Trapped family pet survives house fire at Cloverdale

Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Fire burned through a home at 203 Brown Ave. in Cloverdale on Sunday morning, rendering it a total loss. No one was at home when the fire started and surprisingly, the family dog escaped unhurt.

From a young age, children are taught that if they become trapped in a house fire, they shouldn't hide from firefighters.

While this holds true for them, a dog trapped in a Cloverdale house fire over the weekend did just that, and lived.

Firefighters from the Cloverdale Township Fire Department were called to a house on fire at 203 Brown Ave. Sunday morning and were told the family pet -- a black lab -- was trapped inside the home. The occupant of the home, Christy Truax, was not at home.

"We were told, when we arrived, that the family dog was still inside, but the fire was so involved we thought we would find it dead," Township Fire Chief Kerry Shepherd told the BannerGraphic Monday.

When fire personnel arrived on the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m., the house was fully involved and flames were shooting from the windows.

After fighting the flames for some time, firefighters were shocked to see the dog emerge from underneath a bed, completely unscathed -- albeit a little scared.

Sadly, another dog was killed the previous day in a house fire near Reelsville.

"I couldn't believe it," Shepherd said of the Cloverdale dog. "It just came running out from under the bed."

The dog was safely returned to Truax, but unfortunately for her, the home and its contents were a total loss, Shepherd said.

Firefighters believe the fire started in the living room and quickly spread from there. The exact cause was still under investigation Monday morning, but Shepherd said he does not suspect any foul play.

The home next door was also damaged in the blaze, Shepherd said. The vinyl siding was melted due to the extreme heat from the blaze next door.

Greencastle Fire, Jefferson Township Fire and Operation Life were also dispatched to provide mutual aid and Poland firefighters covered the Cloverdale Township station while units were busy with the fire.

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  • Wow! I have seen the same thing one time when I was on the fire dept. We were burning an old house down as an excercise, when all of a sudden a cat came sprinting from the burning house. The cat paused long enough in the yard to give us all a dirty look then took off again!

    -- Posted by Xgamer on Tue, Nov 27, 2007, at 7:00 AM
  • That's why we teach people to STAY LOW when escaping a burning building.

    -- Posted by Geologist on Tue, Nov 27, 2007, at 7:54 AM
  • He should have given you a little more than a dirty look for burning his house down. I know I would have.

    -- Posted by CdaleResident on Wed, Dec 5, 2007, at 11:46 PM
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