Leann, one of
our receptionists, woke up choking during the very early hours one morning last
July. There was smoke in her
bedroom. “At first I thought the smoke
was coming from outside, because my window was open,” she said. But as she walked out of the bedroom, she saw
thick smoke and a flickering glow at the end of the hall.
Baby’s
favorite sleeping spot was on top of the stove, so that’s where Leann, her
owner, put her old cat’s bed. The cat bed and kitchen cabinets were in flames,
and there was no sign of Baby, so Leann feared the worst had happened. By the time help arrived, the fire had gutted
most of the house.
What caused
the catastrophic conflagration? Although
it might have been faulty wiring, the firefighters felt it was more likely to
be a pyromaniac pooch. Leann’s dog,
Kodi, has a habit of standing on his hind legs and placing his front paws on
the top of the stove to harass Baby.
Most likely, on that fateful morning he turned on one of the burners during
his hijinks.
When Leann
told me her sad tale the day after the fire, I realized that this type of
disaster must be more common than people realize. I remembered a client who came into our
office about 15 years ago with a similar tale of misfortune. One night, the family had pizza and then went
to a movie. They left the pizza box,
with a few uneaten pieces of savory cheesiness, sitting on top of the
stove. You guessed it: The dog couldn’t resist the temptation and
accidentally turned on the stove while dining.
The family returned from the movie to find nearly complete destruction
of their house. The dog sitting in my
exam room had made a safe exit.
So now I’ve
personally known of two house fires caused by pets. Just how prevalent are
these animal-induced infernos? My
curiosity led me to the Internet. In a
similar vein, a story titled “Who’s
a naughty kitty…?” relates the tale of a £250,000 blaze that destroyed two
houses in England. Fire investigators
believe the homeowner’s tabby cats, Jesse and Dora, might have walked across a
touch-sensitive knob in the kitchen, turning it on. Both cats perished inthe fire.
It might seem obvious that pets and stoves can be a virulent
combination. But a glass dog bowl? An article from 2009 in the Seattle Times
reported that the partially-filled bowl was sitting on a wooden deck on a sunny
day. The water apparently concentrated
the sun’s rays like a magnifying glass.
The resulting fire destroyed the deck and the adjacent kitchen to the
tune of $215,000. University of
Washington atmospheric scientist Steve Warren says the dog-bowl theory sounds
far-fetched but not impossible.
The best story I found, though, was about a naughty corgi
named Yogi who liked to attack cleaning supplies. One day, Hali Hudson, Yogi’s
owner, opened the cabinet under the sink. Yogi grabbed
a can of spray paint that was stored with the cleaning supplies and punctured
it. The can flew around the room
spraying paint everywhere, including all over the dog. While Hali was in the bathroom washing Yogi,
she heard an explosion; her kitchen had caught fire. Nobody was hurt, although the resulting mess
was frightful. A show called “Pet Sense” happened to be there that day
filming a story about dogs with unusual behavioral problems, so the entire
debacle is recorded: Explosion & Fire Caused by Corgi
These tragedies are alarming, but mostly avoidable. The AKC offers these tips to prevent your pet
from causing fires:
- Extinguish open flames. Pets
are curious and will investigate cooking appliances, candles, even a fire
in your fireplace. Make sure your pet is not left unattended around an
open flame, and thoroughly extinguish any open flame before leaving your
home.
- Remove stove knobs. Remove
stove knobs or protect them with covers before leaving the house.
According to the National Fire Protection Association, a stove or cook top
is the No. 1 piece of equipment involved in fires started by pets.
- Invest in flameless candles. They
contain a light bulb rather than an open flame, eliminating the risk if your
pet knocks it over. Cats are notorious for starting fires when their tails
turn over lit candles.
- Beware of water bowls on wooden decks!
And these tips will help
protect your pets in case of a fire:
·
Keep Pets Near Entrances
When Away From Home. Keep collars on
pets and leashes at the ready in case firefighters need to rescue your pet.
When leaving pets home alone, keep them in areas or rooms near entrances where
firefighters can easily find them.
·
Secure Young Pets. Especially with young puppies, keep them confined away from
potential fire-starting hazards when you are away from home. Secure them in a
crate, or erect baby gates.
·
Because pets left alone can’t
escape a burning home – Consider using monitored
smoke detectors that are connected to a monitoring center so emergency
responders can be contacted when you’re not home. Such systems provide an added
layer of protection beyond battery-operated smoke alarms.
·
Affix a pet-alert window
cling – Write down the number of
pets inside your house and attach the static cling to a front window. That critical
information saves rescuers time when locating your pets. Make sure to update
the number of pets listed.
Although Leann and her
husband had to live in a hotel room and farm out their pets for five months,
her story has a happy ending: All 12
pets were safe. Needless to say, Baby no
longer sleeps on the stove, and the stove knobs are protected from Kodi with
child-proof covers!
