BOISE, Idaho — Nanette Wilson was out running errands when she got a call no one wants - her house was on fire, and her dog was home at the time. Thanks to the Boise Fire Department though, the two are back together.
Boise Fire told KTVB the call came in shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon.
“Some passerby’s driving on Vista saw some smoke coming from the roof, a few of the citizens stopped and went and banged on the door, and actually kicked it in and yelled inside to alert anyone that was still inside,” Boise Fire Battalion Chief Thomas Moore said.
Noah Schroeder was one of those people who kicked in the door. He said he didn’t realize it was a fire immediately after smelling the smoke.
"Initial reaction was that someone was barbequing, and then someone was doing a car repair, it didn't smell right,” he said.
Schroeder quickly realized though it was a fire across the street from his car business.
"We ran across the street, kicked in the door and ran through the house to make sure no one was inside,” he said. “As my other partner grabbed the phone and dialed 911 to get fire rescue here as soon as possible."
Moore told KTVB once firefighters got on scene, they were able to knock the fire down quickly, but the fire was burning long enough to cause damage to the home.
"There is significant fire damage to what looks like the kitchen area, and there is smoke damage throughout,” he said.
No one was inside when crews got to the scene but the dog was inside.
"The dog was great, did better than I expected,” Moore said. “A lot of times when a pet is involved in a fire, they're very scared and they try to run. This dog was very calm and a very friendly dog.”
Wilson said the dog, named Joey, is an emotional support animal for her.
“He is everything to me, he is everything to me. he's the only thing that got me through being homeless," she said.
When she got the call that her house was on fire, she had one thing in mind.
"Joey is inside, and I need someone to go get Joey,” she said.
She called her friend, Ken Lab, to go and check on the dog since she was around 45 minutes away.
“I said of course, and I headed over here and I had her on the phone the whole way over here,” Lab said.
Lab said he continued to talk to Wilson on the phone. He got out of his car and approached the firefighters who let him know that Joey was okay.
“They let me know immediately the dog was okay,” he said.
Lab informed Wilson that her emotional support dog got out of the house, and he was safe in his arms.
“I was grateful for Ken that he was able to come and get him and whatever he was doing, he dropped it to go get him,” Wilson said.
Wilson was also overwhelmed with joy that the firefighters were able to save her dog.
"I love them for that,” she said. “I'm grateful for the firefighters and the fire department.”
Moore told KTVB that he believes this fire started in the kitchen. At this time, a cause hasn’t been determined.
Boise Fire wanted to reiterate that if someone is inside a house when it's burning, or if someone sees a house fire, either get outside or stay outside. BFD also said people shouldn’t be kicking in doors to a burning house. Instead, let them handle that since they're equipped to handle the smoke.