A West Sechelt family that lost their home to a massive fire Monday morning is praising the Sechelt volunteer fire department (SVFD) for their efforts in saving a beloved family pet.
Dave Fonger woke up to the sounds of exploding cars and raging flames at about 3 a.m. on Jan. 9 at his home on Mills Road.
"I heard explosions and I ran out the door and saw that the house was on fire, the carport and everything. My boat and my car were all burning up," Fonger said. "There was another explosion, and the fire almost got me. I scooted back upstairs and went in and started screaming."
Fonger's 19-year-old son DJ woke up and the pair ran out the back door as flames started to engulf the living room.
Fonger's ex-partner lives downstairs, and she also escaped the blaze. The three of them jumped a fence to get away from the flames and explosions and called 9-1-1.
The SVFD was on scene within minutes.
"Then I remembered the dog and headed back and was going to go in," Fonger recalled. "I ran into one of the firemen, and I told him 'I've just got to go get my dog.' They thought she was gone already because the fire was pretty intense. So I said, 'well, if you find the dog, don't show her to us'."
Fire Chief Bill Higgs said the firemen were alerted and on the lookout for the dog named Scooter, a white four-year-old female shih tzu.
"Everyone here is an animal lover, and so the guys went in and did a search," Higgs said.
The primary search showed no sign of Scooter, and Fonger feared the worst. The room Scooter slept in was completely destroyed.
"When I go to bed I make her stay in her basket in the living room and she behaves - she'll stay there. So that's what I was worried about, but I guess she was smart enough to know 'if I stay, I'm going to get cooked,'" Fonger said.
On the secondary search, firefighters found Scooter - cold, wet and blackened with ash, cowering under a bed in the back bedroom.
"One of the firemen came over and had the dog wrapped up. I thought it was wrapped up dead, because she was grey. And all of a sudden, the eyes open and the tail starts wagging. He had given her oxygen and pretty well saved her life," Fonger said.
"My son had tears in his eyes. That was the greatest thing, and I give all the credit to - I don't even know which fireman it was, but he found her."
Higgs said his firefighters were just glad to have been able to lift the family's spirits that day.
"We're just happy that we could play a role. When people are having the worst day of their life, it's nice to be able to bring a little bit of something to them that's not bad news," Higgs said.
Fonger had insurance on his home and vehicles and said the family will be OK. He is just thankful no one's life was lost, not even little Scooter's.
"We took her to the vet and she's OK inside. She just needs a couple more baths, and she'll be back to normal. She's a pretty special dog," he said.
