A pet dog is being hailed as a hero after reportedly saving a family from a house fire on Christmas Eve.
The incident took place in the early hours of Saturday morning in Bardonia, New York, a Rockland County town roughly 35 miles north of New York City. At approximately 1:30 a.m., homeowner Stephanie Mulhall said that her family’s pet dog began scratching at her bedroom door. Upon going to see what the problem was, she immediately noticed smoke permeating the house.
“About…1:35 a.m. to 1:40 a.m., our dog started scratching at our door,” Mulhall said to News 12. “We just thought she had to go out because she doesn’t sleep with us. She sleeps downstairs and then as soon as I opened the door, I ingested fumes. And as soon as my husband went downstairs, he saw the house on fire.”
Thanks to the dog’s warning, the family was able to wake their children and get out of the burning house, all before their smoke detectors even went off. Mulhall called 911 as soon as possible, with fire personnel from agencies in Nanuet, New City, West Nyack, and Pearl River arriving and bringing the blaze under control.
Chandan Khanna; David McNew/AFP via Getty Images; Getty Images
“[The children] were screaming and crying because the fire alarms were loud,” Mulhall added. “They both were scared. The older one was able to jump right out of bed, I carried the baby down the stairs because he was very scared.”
Officials with the Clarkstown Police Department told News 12 that, while the fire was brought under control and no one was injured, the house has been deemed uninhabitable. The fire inspector handling the case currently believes the fire was started outside of the home.
In response to their plight so close to Christmas Day, the family said they have gotten significant support from their community, receiving donations of clothing, shoes, hats, scarves, and Christmas gifts for their children. A GoFundMe page was also set up to help support the family by a close friend, Traci Cohen. As of Sunday afternoon, it has raised nearly $32,000, well ahead of its $20,000 goal.
“The family dog Chloe scratched at the bedroom door to alert the family of a fire overnight while everybody was tucked in bed sleeping, essentially saving the whole family!” Cohen wrote on the fundraiser page. “Right now more than anything, this family needs community support. With it being a day before Christmas, and losing everything they need the basic essentials like clothing, for all members, some Christmas gifts for the kids, and anything they need to get settled. Hoping this GoFundMe can get the community’s help in providing for this young family!”
Newsweek reached out to the Clarkstown police for comment.
