Dog Trying to Get Food off Counter Sets Kitchen on Fire
A seemingly ordinary Tuesday morning took a tragic turn for a family when their beloved pet dog accidentally set their apartment on fire after turning on their kitchen burner.
Coeur d’Alene Press reports the incident revealing that on November 5th, the dog owner, Jessica Thomassen had dropped off her 4-year-old son at her mother’s place. She then returned to spend a few hours at home with her dog before she left to attend to her business, Faded and Confused Barber Shop.
Shortly after she left, she received a frantic call from a neighbor alerting her of a smoke alarm sounding in her apartment. Upon rushing home, Thomassen was met with a horrifying scene of her apartment engulfed in smoke.
“I left work to check and opened my door, and that’s when all the smoke came out,” Thomassen said. “When I opened the door, it was just a wall of smoke,” she added.
According to Coeur d’Alene Press, Harley immediately ran out of the apartment while Thomassen contacted 911. Firefighters arrived promptly and extinguished the blaze, which was relatively minor.
However, the fire caused significant smoke damage, rendering the apartment uninhabitable. The Red Cross has stepped in to assist the family, who are currently staying in a hotel while they search for a new place to live.
The cause of the fire was later determined to be Thomassen’s 12-year-old German Shepherd-Heeler mix, Harley. Harley was attempting to reach a metal food container on the counter when he accidentally knocked it onto the stove burner, inadvertently turning it on and causing the blaze. The ensuing fire triggered the smoke alarm, alerting neighbors.
Calling the incident a “super freak accident,” Thomassen explained: “What happened was, apparently, my dog tried to get the metal food container off the counter and knocked it into the burner and somehow turned the burner on.”
Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Chris Way confirms to Coeur d’Alene Press that while it is rare for pets to start fires, it’s not entirely impossible. “We’ve had one where a dog knocked over a candle. We’ve had one where a dog hit a stove,” Way said.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Thomassen recover from the fire and rebuild her home. The page explains that Thomassen needs fund to “replace a lot of essential items, including clothes and bedding as well as bigger furniture for her family.” The page has since raised $1,300 from 15 donors.
In September, a similar incident involving a French Bulldog named Harvey occurred when the dog accidentally ignited a blaze in a Brook Park, Ohio home.
A security camera captured the incident showing the curious dog attempting to reach food, when he inadvertently turned on a stove burner, sparking a fire that caused significant damage to the residence.
The homeowner, Chris DiLuzio said he was at work when he received a call from the fire department informing him of the blaze.
Although his his son, niece, mother-in-law and two dogs were home during the incident, fortunately, no one was injured in the incident, but the family suffered significant property loss, as many of their cherished possessions were destroyed in the fire.
Speaking about the incident, DiLuzio said the dog is “just being fat and hungry.” “If we didn’t have it on camera, it’s kinda a far-fetched tale; you wouldn’t really believe it.”
“It was definitely panic and fear at the same time cause they said they only located one dog; my first thought process was my son, my niece, and my mother-in-law were here.”
