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Dec. 07--If he had to do it again, Peter DiStefano wouldn't hesitate to make the same choice that nearly killed him.

"You don't leave part of your family in a burning building. I just knew we had to get the dog out," said the 57-year-old Whitehall Township man who charged into his smoke-filled home Nov. 30 to try to save the family's Rottweiler. The dog, Diamond, died in the blaze.

From his daughter's home where he was recovering Tuesday, DiStefano recalled his crawl to the stairs, sliding down into the basement and reaching for Diamond. He hit the brick floor and whispered a few words to the dog that lived with his family since she was a puppy.

"I said, 'Sorry Diamond; I don't think we're getting out of here' and woke up in a hospital a day and a half later," said DiStefano, who was listed in critical condition at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest for two days. "I must have carried her up because they [firefighters] found us on the floor in the bedroom, but I really don't remember how I got there."

The fire, which started as a cooking accident about 6:15 p.m., gutted the ranch home at 4418 Thebes Turn, where DiStefano lived with his wife, Brenda, son, P.J., and daughter-in-law Nichole. Brenda's bird Dallas, a cockatiel she owned for 16 years, also died. Rescue officials estimated the fire caused about $60,000 in damage.

Though he lost most of his possessions in the fire, DiStefano was grasping for words to describe the appreciation he felt for the community's outpouring of support.

"With the economy the way it is and so many others in trouble, I'm amazed that people care about how I'm doing," said DiStefano, adding that his wife's employer, Sam's Club, and his son's workplace are offering help. "I just can't put words to it."

Handing his father a plastic bag of belongings that smelled of smoke, P.J. DiStefano said little could be salvaged from the fire, which left their home charred and hallowed days after the family completed a remodeling project.

"We just about saved enough clothing to wear," said the 24-year-old DiStefano. "We have a detailed list of everything to throw out down to Q-tips."

P.J. DiStefano, who brought the dog home five years ago as a puppy, took the loss hard. Diamond's routines of watching TV, barking at animal shows and curling into his bed once he awoke were painfully absent Tuesday.

He was grateful, however, for his father's fast recovery. On the night of the fire he was told his father was missing and he rushed to the house in the Egypt section of Whitehall. By the time he arrived, firefighters discovered Peter DiStefano unconscious on the floor, his arms outstretched beside Diamond.

Once DiStefano began breathing and was on his way to the hospital, P.J. DiStefano turned back and waited for Diamond. She never came out.

"When I was in the hospital, it was unreal. Then I saw the house and started thinking: 'I don't know how I didn't get burned,'" said DiStefano, who suffered from smoke inhalation and is experiencing irritation and soreness in his lungs. "I wasn't worried about me. I wanted to know about the dog."

He knows his actions are questionable to some people. He mused at surveys that ask people to weigh in on whether they would try to rescue a pet from a fire.

"There is no time to stand there and rationalize it," he said. " I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else to do, but I would do the same thing again -- without hesitation."

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