A family in Maryland is grieving after a freak accident took the lives of several of their pets and destroyed their home. The family’s dog, Bo, managed to set a fire at their Hartford County home when he jumped up on the counter looking for something to eat. Unbelievably enough, the whole incident was caught on Chad Ellis’ security camera, which he shared during an interview with local news station WJZ-TV, which shared the footage on Facebook.
CBS News picked up the coverage of the story, sharing how the homeowner was only gone for about 15 minutes before being alerted to the fire by his security camera. Calling it a “freak accident,” Ellis is now warning other people about the dangers while mourning the loss of his home and pets.
Sadly, three of the family’s beloved pets were lost in the blaze.
Warning: This footage may be hard for some animal lovers to watch.
The Dog Starts a House Fire with a Toaster
Ellis says that his dog Bo, who was a known “counter surfer” and “knucklehead,” doesn’t deserve any blame for the July 10 fire that destroyed the family’s home.
“It was an absolute freak accident,” he told WJZ. “I guess the lesson we’re going to learn the hard way is to unplug appliances that aren’t being used.” That’s because the fire started after Bo turned the toaster on, while Ellis believes he was trying to get to some bread that had been stored nearby. The dog must have started the toaster in the process, which heated up and then caught the kitchen on fire.
Ellis said he was only gone from the house for 15 minutes when he received the alert from his security camera, and he rushed back home just as fast as he could. “By the time I got here, there were two trucks from the fire department here,” he recalled.
A neighbor was able to get two of the family’s dogs, including Bo, to safety. Their bearded dragon also survived, but it was touch-and-go for the first 24 hours. Sadly, their dog Dakota and cats Beth and Kayce didn’t make it.
The Family’s Freak Accident Isn’t So Rare
While it probably feels like a one-in-a-million chance that something like this would happen, the American Red Cross says that pets are to blame for nearly 1,000 home fires a year. As such, the organization suggests taking some general safety precautions when your pets are around, including blowing out candles before you leave your home, removing the knobs from your stove, and securing younger pets when you’re unable to supervise them.
What happened to the Ellis family is a tragedy, but hopefully their story helps save another family’s home and pets.