Hero pups save family from overnight house fire in Palm Bay: 'Just very thankful'
Hero pups save family from overnight house fire in Palm Bay
family’s dogs saved them from a housefire in Palm Bay. The dogs woke them up before smoke started filling the home and the fire spread. The save is special because the family runs the Space Coast Frenchie and saves dogs every day. The dogs paid back the favor when it mattered most.
BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. - A local couple dedicated to saving rescue dogs on the Space Coast had the tables turned on them when their four-legged friends woke them up to escape a dangerous house fire.
The blaze broke out in the middle of the night at a Palm Bay home when a motorcycle battery inside the garage burst into flames, quickly filling the residence with toxic black smoke.
Dogs save family from house fire
What they're saying:
Ashley Pedersen, founder of the Space Coast Frenchie Rescue, and her husband were asleep inside. It was Rux, a French Bulldog who usually sleeps late, along with their other rescue pups, who sounded the alarm around 4:00 a.m.
"[He] started making commotion and barking," Pedersen said.
If not for the dogs, the outcome could have been tragic.
"If we didn’t wake up, which I don’t know if we would have—I’m a pretty heavy sleeper, I don’t know," Pedersen recalled. "Just very thankful that they woke us up."
Firefighters emphasized just how close the couple came to catastrophe.
"A majority of the time, people just become incapacitated by the smoke and the super-heated gases," said John Ringleb, Assistant Chief of the Palm Bay Fire Department. "If they’re sleeping, they just don’t wake up."
Family saves dogs every day
The lifesaving wake-up call is a special twist of fate for Pedersen, who spends her days saving animals through the Space Coast Frenchie Rescue. She has rescued countless dogs from danger, and when an emergency struck her own household, her pups paid back the favor.
Following the fire, the local community also immediately stepped up to support the rescuer in her time of need.
"[They] got the dogs where we needed to go, got the cats to the vet," Pedersen said. "It’s truly the community that the rescue has built."
What's next:
Though the family home sustained major damage, the rescue work hasn't stopped.
Despite the long road to repairs ahead, Pedersen remains fully committed to her mission.
"The calls are not stopping," she said. "I can’t say no. Mike and I just went and picked one up yesterday."
The rescue currently has an urgent need for fosters so they can continue taking in more dogs. Anyone interested in fostering can connect with them directly on the Space Coast Frenchie Rescue Facebook page.
Advice from firefighters
Fire officials stress that while dogs can sometimes save the day, working smoke detectors remain your primary defense against house fires.
- Every Room & Garage: Install working smoke alarms inside every bedroom, outside all sleeping areas and on every level of your home. Consider specialized heat or smoke alarms for garages, where lithium and motor batteries pose a heightened fire risk.
- Regular Checks: Test smoke alarms monthly by pressing the test button. Replace batteries at least once a year, or immediately if the unit begins chirping.
The Source: FOX 35 Reporter Esther Bower saw the local rescue post about the fire and reached out. She spoke with the founder and fire victim on Aug. 17, 2026. She reached out to Palm Bay Fire for more information and interviewed a fire official via zoom on Aug. 17, 2026.