Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Dog alerts sleeping owners to fire

Bellevue blaze doused in cooperative effort

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By ROBIN SIAS
Express Staff Writer

Jodee Mills, right, poses with her dog Gus on Monday, two days after Gus helped save her from a dangerous house fire. On the left is Mills’ daughter, Sunny Mills, and another family dog, Axel. Photo by David N. Seelig

A shaggy dog named Gus saved his owners from a dangerous house fire Saturday night. According to Wood River Fire & Rescue Chief Bart Lassman, if the dog had not awakened his owners, the evening could have easily ended in tragedy.

Steve and Jodee Mills were sleeping in the second story of their home at 341 Broadford Road in Bellevue when a fire broke out in a mud room attached to the side of the building. The house, a barn that had been renovated and turned into a primary residence, was not equipped with smoke detectors.

"We sleep in a loft and Gus never comes up there," Jodee Mills said. "We woke up with him scratching and crying at our bedside. We were sound asleep. When we woke up, a wall of the bedroom was on fire and there was so much smoke."

Due to Gus' vigilance, the homeowners were able to get out of the house without injury and call 911. Gus also rescued another dog in the house, Axel, who was asleep with the Mills at the time of the fire.

"Gus has always been our hero, even before the fire," Jodee Mills said.

Another animal in the house, Pele the cat, could not get out under his own power. Firefighters rescued the unconscious cat and gave it oxygen.

The call came in to Wood River Fire and Rescue about 11:20 p.m. Thirty firefighters from the Wood River, Hailey, Bellevue and Ketchum departments worked in a coordinated effort to get the fire under control within five to six minutes of arrival, Lassman said.

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Lassman said the fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical malfunction. He said the mud room burned to the ground and the bedroom suffered extensive damage, but most of the building was not damaged.