Dog alerts HV couple to pre-dawn blaze when flue fire combusts outer wall wood

DOGGONE HERO:
Don and Norma Madison of Happy Valley are thankful that their family pet, April, had the good sense to wake them to the danger of a pre-dawn house fire.

Early one morning, Don and Norma Madison of Happy Valley were awakened by April, their 3-year-old golden Labrador.

Normally, April sleeps through the night. But this particular morning, the animal was clearly agitated. When the Madison's awoke to the pre-dawn hours of April 17, the dog began barking loudly.

Don Madison opened the bedroom door and was greeted by a billow of thickening smoke in the hallway. As he walked through the house, looking for the smoke's source, the doorbell began to ring.

April immediately ran, still barking, straight to the front door.

Norma Madison was the first to reach the portal, but when she opened the door to see who might be visiting at that time of night, she felt a blast of heat.

She also noticed a red glow and then saw flames crawling up the outside wall of their house very near to the doorbell.

When the Happy Valley Fire Department arrived at the Bohn Boulevard residence, they found the Madisons sitting calmly in the front yard with April nestled between them.

The Madisons made it known very quickly that they are very supportive of their local fire department and seemed confident that everything would be okay.

According to Chief Joe Vasquez, the cause of the fire was a build-up of creosote behind the fireplace insert. The smoldering creosote radiated enough heat through the flu and into the surrounding wood to cause pyrolysis. The resulting fire shorted out the doorbell.

Thirteen Happy Valley firefighters were on the scene from approximately 3:45 a.m. to 6:45 a.m.

"They were very efficient and kind," recalled Don Madison, who watched the progress of firefighters working from both inside and outside his home to reach the source of the fire and smoke, then quell the flames.

Norma Madison, however, steadfastly looked lovingly at April.

"Everyone should have a dog," she said at one point. However, she quickly added that "April is the best in the world."

What does April think of her act of heroism?

Who knows.

She did appear to be very proud of the part she had played in the family's drama.

But after making sure the firefighters were doing their jobs and other members of her family were safe, she calmly lay down on a section of carpet and took a well-deserved snooze amid the hubbub.