Dog alerts Duluth girl of fire, her quick action saves family home

A family dog’s barking alerted a girl of an overnight fire, and authorities are crediting her quick response with saving the family home.

The Duluth Fire Department was dispatched to a report of a structure fire in the Duluth Heights neighborhood.  Crews arrived to find a large garage that was nearly fully engulfed in flames.  The garage was technically detached from the home, but within inches of the house, according to a social media post by the fire department.

Authorities say a family of four was asleep when the fire started.  A 12-year-old girl inside the home heard the family’s yellow lab, Dudley, barking and saw the fire when she looked out her bedroom window.  Dudley was kenneled in the heated garage, according to the Facebook post.

DFD says the girl woke her family and her father searched for Dudley, who escaped.  Dudley has some singed fur but was doing well at the time of the media release.

The fire department says crews were able to keep the fire out of the house due to the girl’s quick and calm action.