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Sept. 17--THERESA -- A black Labrador's frantic barking early Thursday awoke a homeowner, enabling the resident to escape using a roll-down emergency ladder, but the hero dog died in the blaze.
Pablo Otero, 219 Pine St., told fire officials he had no doubt that he too would have died had it not been for his dog, according to Jefferson County fire investigator Jeffrey M. VanBrocklin.
The fire broke out shortly before 5 a.m. in the kitchen ceiling, and apparently was caused by a defective fluorescent light fixture, Mr. VanBrocklin said. Having been awakened, Mr. Otero ran downstairs, found the ceiling on fire, then went back up to his bedroom to rescue his pet dog. Meanwhile, flames spread, and Mr. Otero found himself trapped on the second floor. He grabbed the emergency escape ladder, unleashed it from a bedroom window and made his exit, the investigator said.
Mr. Otero, 41, then climbed onto a porch roof, hoping to reach his dog, but flames and smoke forced him back.
Mr. Otero was home alone. His wife, KaLeanna, 42, a private-duty nurse, was at work.
Fire units from Theresa, Evans Mills, LaFargeville, Pamelia, Philadelphia, Plessis and Redwood responded to the scene and confined fire damage to the kitchen. Heat, smoke and water damage was sustained throughout the insured structure.
The couple has owned the house since 2004. Mr. Otero is also a nurse, employed at Samaritan Medical Center, Watertown, Mr. VanBrocklin said.
