Dog’s barking alerts family to fire in home

Published: March 10, 2006 | 3735th good news item since 2003

A township family was saved by their dog on Sunday night when his barking alerted them to a two-alarm fire in their house.

The night of the fire, the Cramer family was fast asleep, unaware that a fire had started in their basement and was quickly moving its way up the house. One family member that became acutely aware of the problem, however, was their dog Toby, a Norweigan elkhound who was in his crate on the first floor, where the fire had begun to spread, according to police.

The dog began to bark incessantly and woke up John Cramer from the master bedroom upstairs, police said. Investigating the barking, he noticed, upon entering the first floor, that fire and smoke was burning through the walls and the floor, police said. Cramer quickly managed to get his wife, Cheryl, and his daughter, Lee, out of the house along with Toby and the other Norweigan elkhound out of the house.

Three other animals were not so lucky, however. The family’s three cats perished in the blaze.

South Brunswick police as well as Monmouth Junction and Kendall Park firefighters responded to the call at 6:39 a.m., with 40 firefighters arriving at the home. The fire, which had consumed the basement and first floor, was brought under control in a little less than half an hour.

All three family members were taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick for smoke inhalation. The surviving pets, meanwhile, were taken by animal control officers for safe keeping. According to police, the animals are uninjured.

According to Deputy Fire Marshal Mike Soltys, the fire was accidental.

The house is completely uninhabitable and the Cramers are currently staying with relatives in the area.

Police Chief Raymond Hayducka credited the firefighters with doing a tremendous job of containing the fire to the basement and first floor. Hayducka also credited the family dog with alerting the residents.

“The dog alerted them prior to the stairs being blocked by fire, which saved the day,” Hayducka said.

Published in Animals and Rescues
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