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« on: December 19, 2007, 04:24:08 pm »
This was in the Minnespolis Paper this Morning.
By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune
Cathy Minnig was home alone, exercising on a treadmill and listening to her iPod when her labrador began jumping on and off the couch and "acting very strange and peculiar."
It's been said that a dog is man's best friend and that certainly was the case Wednesday night in Eagan where authorities say a family dog was responsible for helping a homeowner escape from a house fire.
Cathy Minnig was home alone, exercising in the basement on a treadmill listening to her iPod when her labrador, Riley, began jumping on and off the couch and "acting very strange and peculiar," said Fire Chief Mike Scott.
Minnig removed her headphones to hear fire alarms going off. By the time she ran upstairs, she saw her living room engulfed in flames. Minnig grabbed the dog and ran outside, Scott said.
"That was a real smart dog," he said. "Without the dog, she would have never made it out."
Neither Minnig nor the dog, that the owner has had only for a short time, were hurt. The single mother's two sons were not home when the fire broke out.
Minnig declined to comment, saying only, "I'm overwhelmed."
Crews arrived to find flames shooting out of several windows of the house on the 1470 block of Highview Avenue. Scott said the fire melted power lines attached to the house and ruptured the gas line which made putting out the fire "challenging." Firefighters had to call in heavy equipment to dig up the gas line in order to shut off service to the house, Scott said.
The house is a total loss, Scott said.
The State Fire Marshal's office is investigating the cause of the fire, but Scott said the origin appeared to be near the family Christmas tree.
One firefighter was injured when he slipped while putting hoses back on the truck. He was taken to the hospital where he received a few stitches for a cut near his eye, Scott said.
No other injuries were reported.
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