When a Chapel Hill firefighter got a call from a security company about a fire in his home, his emotions ran the gamut.
"[My] heart sank. I had no idea what was going on. I had no clue what it could possibly be and came home to find that the rug had burned up," Firefighter David Sasser told WRAL.
It didn't take long for him to learn that Colton, his five-year-old rescue, was to blame.
While chewing on a device with a lithium ion battery, Colton managed to break a seal. When it sparked, he high-tailed it up the stairs. But, returned to a landing to watch.
The battery in the video was charged and unplugged when finished. It wasn't under any recalls, but it wasn’t stored safely. Colton was able to get the battery, break its protective features by chewing on it, and ended up causing a fire, Chapel Hill firefighters noted.
"Thankfully, it pretty much fizzled out because of the rug and because we were home so quickly. The rug was the only thing we lost."
Sasser said this close call with Colton is a reminder to use his experience to help others stay safe.
"We learned to be really aware of things in our home and to operate them safely," he said.
