A four-year-old Great Dane has been credited with saving a family of four from a fire raging through their home.
The fire was believed to have started on a grill early Tuesday and spread to the family’s Alabama rental home, according to AL.com. The family’s dog, Ralph, woke up Derek Walker, who went to investigate why the dog would be barking at roughly 2:30 a.m.
A dog is being credited with saving an Alabama family after his bark alerted them to a house fire. The dog, Ralph, “doesn’t usually make a sound at night,” said Derek Walker. https://t.co/5xyxJ3gv2G #odd
— AP Oddities (@AP_Oddities) September 9, 2020
“He was in his kennel inside the house and we heard him barking,” Walker told the outlet. “He usually doesn’t make a sound at night. And it was a different kind of bark.”
Walker claimed that’s when he saw the flames outside of the kitchen window, according to AL.com.
“I just started screaming ‘fire’ to get everybody up,” he said, AL.com reported. “My wife got up and she got our daughter and got her out.” (RELATED: Man Who Allegedly Lit House On Fire Engaged Police In Standoff For 5 Hours With Cinder Block Tied Around His Neck)
The family’s smoke detectors reportedly didn’t go off until the house was full of smoke, Walker told the outlet.
“There was so much smoke I don’t know if we would have made it out,” he reportedly said.
“Without Ralph, I don’t think we would have made it,” Walker continued. “I don’t think my son would have made it.”
Walker’s son’s room was full of smoke by the time his wife got down to his room, which is located on the lowest-level of the home.
The fire department received the call at 2:25 a.m. and were on the scene by 2:29 a.m., according to North Shelby Fire Department Battalion Chief Robert Lawson.
“We could have had injuries or fatalities,” Lawson told the outlet. “As an animal lover, we are very thankful for Ralph.”