Dog Saves Family from Wisconsin Blaze

June 1, 2007
The blaze apparently started on the rear deck and spread into the house's attic.

MAZOMANIE, Wis. --

The family dog is being credited with saving a Mazomanie family after a fire broke out in their home early Thursday morning.

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Fire crews were alerted about the blaze in the 100 block of Emily Road at about 1:32 a.m.

Mazomanie Fire Chief Walter Peterson said that the blaze apparently started on the rear deck and spread into the house's attic. Firefighters weren't able to get onto the building's roof because it was weakened, he said.

Peterson said that the fire was under control within 10 minutes of firefighters' arrival.

Five people as well as a cat, dog and three birds escaped the blaze. No one was injured. The family's dog apparently started barking and they woke up, WISC-TV reported.

"I was afraid she was going to wake the whole house up. When I came out, it looked like the porch light was on. So, I came over to shut it off, and when I walked over here there were just flames everywhere," said homeowner Debra Hoffman, who said the family's dog alert her to the fire.

One firefighter suffered a sprained ankle, the chief said.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Peterson said that the house's smoke detector apparently didn't go off because the smoke was concentrated in the attic and not in the rest of the house.

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