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Video shows dog starting house fire by turning on stove in middle of night

By Jon Haworth, ABC News Jul 4, 2024 | 5:40 AM
Facebook / Colorado Springs Fire Department

(COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.) — Authorities have released a video of a dog starting a housefire when it turned on the stove in the middle of the night and ignited some boxes sitting on top of it, fire officials said.

The incident occurred early in the morning on June 26 in Colorado Springs, Colorado, when the Colorado Springs Fire Department was dispatched to a home on the 1600 block of Rushmore Drive at approximately 4:43 a.m. after receiving a call from a family saying they had experienced a fire on their stove but had been able to extinguish it relatively quickly, according to a statement released by fire officials.

“Engine 23 arrived on scene at 4:47 a.m. at a residential home with no visible fire or smoke. Upon investigation, crews did not find any active fire but did find evidence of a fire,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department in a statement on social media.

The male homeowner was able to extinguish the fire before crews got there, authorities said, but he was later transported to a local hospital and treated for smoke inhalation. There were no other injuries reported in the home, either to people or their pets.

“After talking to the homeowners and looking through their home security footage, we determined their pup got a bit curious and accidentally switched on the oven which had some boxes on top of it,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

The footage shows a dog jumping up and placing its paws on the stove to inspect the boxes placed on top and authorities believe that when it jumped down, it accidentally turned the stove on which ignited the boxes and started the house fire.

The homeowners were immediately alerted and woken up by their Apple HomePod sending them a “high heat” notification and were able to get to the fire before it had time to spread through the home.

Officials took this unique situation to remind people about fire safety inside their homes.

“This is a good reminder to always have working smoke alarms inside and outside every sleeping area and on every floor of the home, ensure all combustibles are away from your stovetop/oven, and know two ways out of every room in your home in the event of a fire,” said the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

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