Neighbors Save Dog From Three-Alarm Fire

Ali Thomas was relieved when she found out that her neighbor, whom she had never met before, went into her apartment in order to save her dog, Comet.

Thomas was on her way home from work when she saw the startling scene of her apartment complex on fire.

“I was in a panic,” Thomas told kirotv, “I was ready to run into the flames myself to get him. I grew up with him. He’s my baby.”

When Thomas approached the scene, her panic subsided as soon as she saw her beloved 13-year-old beagle was safe on a leash with one of the firefighter.

Shawn Riley was the neighbor who saw the building up in flames and ran in to warn people who lived there of the danger.

“It was like war, just a huge boom,” said Riley told told kirotv, “I just wanted to get people out,” he said. “Get people out first!”

Riley and Jeb Mackenzie ran through the building, kicking in doors and warning every one of the fire.

Reports say that all 30 tenets had gotten out safe, though pets and possessions had been a second thought.

Comet was one lucky dog, as Riley spotted him among the smoke.

“At one point, I looked through the smoke in the apartment in the end, and I saw a beagle just sitting there in the smoke,” Riley said.

“I snatched up the dog, smoke was really bad, I had to get out.”

The blaze was reported to be a three-alarm fire. The Snohomish County Fire Chief told KIRO-7 that while they initially could not find the point of the fire’s origin, they are sure that it began on a tenant’s upper deck.

This was a lucky break for little Comet, since he was the one trapped in a burning building. In some cases it’s the pets that do the saving, such as the recent case of the pit bull who saved a woman from being trapped in a burning house.

While everyone was lucky with this fire, it doesn’t always turn out as a happy ending, such as the case of the Dallas firefighter that was killed in a massive condo fire.

“The two most important things to me are my dog and my mom,” Thomas said. “I don’t know what I’d do without them. I’m just glad he’s OK.”

Neighbors can be very helpful in times of need, and in the case of Ali Thomas and her dog Comet, her neighbors have saved more than just a pet, but a family member.

[Image via shutterstock/denverdave]