2 dogs rescued from Latrobe home after gas grill starts fire
Firefighters believe a gas grill on a porch in Latrobe caused a house fire Thursday night, leading to the rescue of two dogs trapped inside.
It all started around 7 p.m. Thursday when a grill that was left to cool on the back porch of a home off of Chambers Street in Latrobe caught fire. No people were home at the time, but trapped inside the house were two dogs, Bingo and Arthur.
When owner Michelle Obarto heard that her house of over 35 years was on fire, she raced home with one thought in her mind.
"Please let me find my dogs and let them be OK," Obarto said. "I know it sounds crazy, but that's all I could think about, was my dogs."
Luck seems to have been with Obarto and her dogs. Not only does she live between two fire stations in Latrobe, each about a quarter of a mile away in two different directions, but her neighbors took fast action to save her dogs in the minutes before firefighters arrived.
"Somebody was coming down the alley, heard the dogs barking and saw the smoke and they kicked the door open," Obarto said. "And (Bingo) came out right away. But Arthur, when he came out of the house, one of the firemen saw him and opened the door to the fire truck and he jumped up into the fire truck."
Obarto and Arthur were reunited a short time later to tears and tail wags.
Latrobe Fire Chief John Brasile says he is proud of his crew's fast response time and that no person or pets were hurt. But he says this fire can be used as a cautionary tale, as it was the grease from the grill that caught fire and was just too close to the house.
The home sustained damage to well over 60% of the structure and is likely a total loss.
"Words of wisdom to the residents," Chief Brasile said. "If you got a grill, keep it away from your house by at least six feet. You don't want to be cooking next to your house because they retain heat for a long time."
Obarto and her dogs are all doing well and they are staying with family until they can figure out the next steps.