A dog accidentally turned on an electric hob and sparked a devastating house fire, destroying the family home and killing their pets, while leaving a mother and two high school students displaced
A family dog accidentally sparked a devastating fire that completely destroyed a home. The pooch is reported to have jumped up at an electric cooker, knocking a burner control.
The horrific accident left a family, including two high school students, without their belongings and their pets. Fire crews were called to the property, located in Enfield, Connecticut, USA, at about 7.50pm last Saturday (June 6) after reports of a structure fire.
While the blaze destroyed the home and tragically killed the family’s pets, fortunately, no people were injured. Fire officials said the dog appeared to have been trying to reach something left on top of the stove when it accidentally turned on a front-facing knob.
Items on the hob then caught fire, with flames spreading quickly from the kitchen to the rest of the house. By the time firefighters arrived, heavy smoke and flames were reported coming from the roof and windows.
Crews worked for some time to get the incident under control, 7 KLPC reported. Although the structure was left standing, the inside of the home was completely gutted by fire, smoke and water damage, leaving it a total loss.
The family, a mother and her two children, who attend Enfield High School, were not at home when the fire started, but were left displaced and lost their belongings. A GoFundMe appeal was launched to help the family replace clothes, school items and everyday essentials.
Fire officials also used the incident to warn against leaving items on a stovetop and suggested knob covers for households with children or curious pets. UK fire services warn that pets accidentally setting off kitchen blazes is not unusual, with curious dogs and cats known to jump up at cookers and hobs and unintentionally switch them on, the BBC reported.
Fire investigators say it most often happens when an animal is drawn by the smell of food left out, and that cookers and stovetops are the most common source of pet-triggered fires. One UK service, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, previously highlighted the issue in a safety campaign after reporting crews attend around 10 pet-related fires a year in the county alone.
Fire bosses say that, replicated across the UK’s many regional fire and rescue services, the total can run into hundreds of incidents nationwide. There have been a number of similar cases reported around the country.
Fire chiefs say modern appliances can be particularly vulnerable, with front-facing dials and touch controls sometimes easy to activate with a paw.
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