Heroic dog saves Florida family as house catches fire, dies in the blaze: 'He was part of the fire alarm'
BRADENTON, FLORIDA: A Florida family is mourning the loss of their rescue dog who died after saving all their lives by alerting them to a fire that had broken out inside their home this past week.
At 1.59 am on Tuesday, September 17, personnel at the City of Bradenton Fire Department responded to reports of a fire at a house in the 700 block of 15th Street East, according to a press release.
When they arrived at the scene in less than a minute, first responding personnel found a residential structure on fire with the blaze venting out on two sides.
While most of the house was destroyed by the time they put out the fire, the family of four escaped unharmed, thanks in no small part to their Jack Russell terrier, Zippy, who had alerted them to the danger.
Unfortunately, Zippy, who the family had rescued from a Manatee County animal shelter, did not survive the blaze and was found dead by the fire department.
Leroy Butler, one of the members of the family, told Bay News 9 how the heroic dog had ensured they all got out of the fire safe and sound.
"The fire alarm was at the low beep and then Dad went to yelling and the dog was already barking," he revealed. "The floor was on fire. See, it was on fire once I went and got the kids. I'm running through fire trying to get them out of there."
"He was back and forth. He was from bed to bed, back and forth," Butler said of Zippy, adding the dog was barking as loudly as possible. "He was a part of the fire alarm, he was barking," he added to WTSP.
Butler said that, as he was trying to get everyone out, the whole house was collapsing around them. "By the time we got from the hallway door to the kitchen right here, that whole ceiling dropped," he explained. "It went black and flames come out the roof and all the windows start blowing out."
He said he managed to get everyone out safely, and immediately called 911 after he got his hands on a phone. While he didn't realize it at the time, Zippy had not escaped outside with them.
"Zippy was just a little Jack Russell terrier, a little black and white dog we adopted 3-4 years ago and he's just been the house pet," Butler said. "He was real helpful and we're going to miss him."
Fire inspectors investigated the scene on Tuesday afternoon and said they believed that the fire had started in the house's attic, next to the air conditioner. However, the cause is still undetermined, and the Red Cross is currently helping the family get back on their feet.
"We just got to start from the ground up again," Butler said. "Got to rebuild."