A person was hurt and two family pets died as flames tore through a Philadelphia home overnight.
The homeowner credits one of those dogs with saving her family after flames broke out shortly before 1 a.m. in their home along the 100 block of W Washington Lane in the city’s Germantown neighborhood.
Natalie Hall credited a barking dog with alerting her family of the fire, which seemed to have started in the home’s basement.
“My young niece said she was awaken by the pit bull barking,” said Hall.
That dog and another family dog didn’t make it out of the fire.
“The dog must have collapsed in the smoke,” said Hall.
Hall lived in the home with her brother, sister and the sister’s three teenage daughters. The brother suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to the hospital -- otherwise everyone else made it out of the quick-moving fire unscathed.
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Hall’s family has lived in the home for nearly four decades.
"That's it, all of our memories have gone up in smoke," said Hall.
The fire, which took a couple of hours to get under control, heavily damaged the home as flames shot up through the roof. Two adjacent homes -- not occupied at the time of the blaze -- also were damaged.
A hot spot even flared up around daybreak bringing firefighters back to the scene.
Hall said her family would stay at a nearby home she also owns.
The exact cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday morning.
