Dog saves family from fire

A dog saved the lives of a caretaker and his family by barking and waking them up before a fire totally engulfed the house they were occupying in Quezon City late Thursday.

The fire broke out at past 11 p.m. at the house in Barangay Pansol, whose ground floor was occupied by caretaker Jose Obial, his wife and five children, said fire investigator SFO1 Fortunato Alde.

No one occupies the second floor – where items like mattresses and electrical appliances were stored – of the two-story house, reportedly up for sale by its current owner.

Obial said he and his family were sleeping when they heard the loud barking of their pet dog, which was in a cage outside the house.

He said he was shocked when he saw the flames on the second floor of the house. He woke up his family and they rushed out of the house.

The blaze reached the fourth alarm, before firemen put it out at 12:07 a.m. yesterday. Alde said that they have yet to determine what caused the fire and the cost of damages it brought.

Firefighter Danilo Palma was injured when he fell through from the second floor and landed on the ground floor along with debris from the burning house.

As of yesterday afternoon, Palma was still at the Quirino Memorial Medical Center undergoing treatment.