Puppy saves family from fire

Puppy saves family from fire

Roly was found unconscious by firefighters

A family say they are lucky to be alive after their puppy saved them from a house fire.

Roly, a five-month-old Labrador, was in the kitchen when the fire started there at about 0600 GMT on Friday.

He woke the family by barking and "banging around" before the smoke alarms sounded.

But as the family escaped from the fire, the dog was trapped in the kitchen, which had filled with smoke.

Firefighters later found Roly unconscious and spent 30 minutes reviving him.

He really saved our lives

Pauline Crofts, owner

The dog is said to be fine except for a cough from the smoke.

Owner Pauline Crofts, from Bulwell in Nottingham, said: "I heard this banging downstairs and I realised it was my puppy.

"I was thinking he wanted to go out and spend a penny."

When she and her husband Reg got up they realised the kitchen was on fire and tried to rescue the dog but the heat beat them back.

The fire destroyed most of the kitchen

After firefighters arrived they found the dog unconscious in the kitchen which had been badly damaged by the flames.

Station officer Neil Grant, from Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue, said the early warning from the dog was vital.

"We would have ended up with a serious house fire instead of just a fire confined to a kitchen."

Mr Croft said: "They said he [the dog] has got a bit of a cough from the smoke but that will go.

"They have injected him and checked him out and they said he would be all right."

Mrs Croft added: "He really saved our lives."