Family’s Pet Dog Dies In House Fire

Alabama Mobile Another of family's four dogs is still missing.

by Steve Alexander

Published: Mon, September 07, 2009 - 8:52 pm CST Last Updated: Mon, September 07, 2009 - 8:58 pm CST

MOBILE, Alabama - This Labor Day holiday has brought tragedy to a west Mobile family.
Fire killed one of their pets, and another is still missing.
The blaze broke out shortly before 4:00 Monday afternoon in a home at 7585 Avenue C.
Timothy Hall said he, his son, Joshua, and a friend had just gone to the store to get ice and saw the house on fire when they returned.
Hall's first thought: rescuing his four dogs.
He said, "I opened the door to try to see if i could get in because I knew the dogs were in."
Hall's friend, Joey Smiley, said he advised Hall and Joshua to stay safe.
Smiley said, "I kept telling them, 'Don't go in there, don't go in there.' "
Timothy Hall said he was able to rescue two dogs, Butch and Jules, but, "we got them all out, except Blackie and Bay Bay."
Blackie died and Bay Bay was missing.
Joshua Hall said, "We tried to go in and get the dogs, but it was so hot you couldn't breathe in there."
Mobile District Fire Chief Robert Thornton said, "I think the smoke had gotten to the dog to the point where there was nothing we could do. We tried for some minutes, but there wasn't anything we could do."
Even about an hour after the fire broke out, firefighters were still putting water on the house.
Fire officials said more than half of the house was destroyed.
Timothy Hall said the house is insured, but insurance can't replace everything.
Smiley said the Halls "love their dogs. They're dog people. The dogs are like part of the family."
Firefighters said they're still investigating exactly what caused the fire.

WKRG.com » News Stream » Alabama