Firefighter rescues dog from Hayward house fire

You know those scenes in movies or TV shows when there’s an animal stuck in a burning building or in the middle of the street, or anywhere they might get hurt?

Any bleeding pet-lover has a near-heart attack when anything like that appears on the screen, myself included.

But it’s equally moving when an animal is saved. Such was the story Sunday night in Hayward when firefighters rescued a 13-year-old basset hound from a burning house.

Hayward Fire Capt. Thor Poulsen told InsideBayArea.com that firefighters arrived at the Lafayette Avenue residents a little after 8:15 Sunday night. The couple living in the house said they awoke to the smell of smoke coming from the kitchen. Authorities believe that the stove was still lit and caught fire.

The couple had evacuated safely with two of their three dogs. 13-year-old Maddie, who is partially blind, was still stuck inside the one-story house. Members of he fire crew searched every room in the house to try to find the dog before she succumbed to smoke inhalation.

If this was a scene in TV show, I would be covering my eyes for fear that something bad would happen to the poor pup.

But firefighter Ed Camera saved the day when he found Maddie unharmed in the “last room checked” in the house. The rest of the fire crew was able to contain the fire to the kitchen, keeping it the only significantly damaged room in the home.

No residents or firefighters–or basset hounds– were injured.