Officer, neighbor rescue trapped dog from lightning-sparked Ocoee house fire
Officer, neighbor rescue trapped dog after lightning sparks house fire
A lightning strike sparked a house fire in Ocoee last month, destroying much of a family's home and trapping their dog in the fenced backyard.
OCOEE, Fla. - According to the Ocoee Fire Department, a lightning strike sparked the house fire on June 30. The bolt struck near the home’s electrical panel, sometime before 2 p.m. and flames quickly spread throughout the house.
An already stressful situation for first responders worsened when they were alerted to the fact one member of the family was still missing: the family dog was trapped in the fenced backyard with nowhere to run.
The occupants lost a significant portion of their belongings, but thanks to a quick-acting neighbor and Officer Josh Bode with the Ocoee Police Department, they didn’t lose the family dog.
The rescue
The backstory:
Officer Josh Bode was among the first to arrive on the scene. While he admits he isn't exactly a designated "dog guy," he has a soft spot for animals and he knew he had to help.
"It was a very chaotic scene, and the dog kept trying to go towards the house, but obviously, the house was on fire, so there was a lot of smoke around the dog," Officer Bode told FOX 35 News. "He didn't really know what to do; he was scared with everything that was going on."
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As the fire continued to burn, the dog cowered closer to the smoking walls. Bode spotted a dog crate in the backyard, and working alongside a helpful neighbor, they managed to calm the panicked Malinois mix and wrangle him inside the crate, away from the thick smoke.
Within minutes, the dog’s owner arrived on the scene to find her dog safe and sound.
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"She was definitely relieved," Officer Bode recalled. "Obviously, a lot was going through her head, but at least she saw her pet family member there nice and safe. She was happy to see at least her dog safe."
FOX 35 reached out to the homeowners to see how they and their dog are recovering, but has not yet heard back.
The Source: This story was written based on information shared by the Ocoee Fire Department