div stylefont-family arial classmarginlrbHERO DOG SAVES FAMILY MEMBERS LIVES BEFORE BEING OVERCOME BY HOUSE FIREbbr nbspdivdiv idGPage1 classgel-pane gpagediv–Saxotech Paragraph Count 17br–pHAMMONTON — Nine people escaped a burning home on Pleasant Mills Road after a barking pit bull alerted them to the blaze authorities said.pdiv classarticleflex-containerdiv classarticleflexbr div idadcontainergelementadbanner0div idgelement2script idgelement3 srchttpgannett.gcion.comaddyn3.05111.189616300ADTECHaliasnj-hammonton.thehammontonnews.comnewsarticle.htmArticleFlex1cookieinfoloc100targetblankgrp43953misc1280923386721noperf1keyDoghelpssaveninepeoplefromhousefirekvcwkvtitleDog-helps-save-nine-people-from-house-fire typetextjavascriptscriptdivdivbanner idgelementadbanner0 positionArticleFlex1bannerdivdivpnbspppThe dog died in the blaze but none of the homes occupants were injured said Detective John Panarello of the Hammonton Police Department.ppThe blaze broke out at about 430 a.m. July 31 in the rear of the ranch-style home in the 200 block of Pleasant Mills Road authorities said.ppThe adults and children inside the rented house were sleeping but they woke up when they heard the dog barking.ppWhen they went to check on the animal they realized the house was engulfed in flames.ppAs the occupants fled the home a newspaper delivery person who happened to be in the area noticed the flames and called 9-1-1 authorities said.ppquotThis really could have been a tragedy if the dog didnt do what it didquot said Dennis LaSassa assistant chief of the Hammonton Fire Department.ppWhen firefighters arrived flames were shooting out of the rear of the home and there was considerable smoke LaSassa said.ppIt took firefighters from Hammonton Elwood Collings Lakes and Nesco about 45 minutes to get the blaze under control.ppThey found the dog dead in a front bedroom LaSassa said.ppThe home was equipped with smoke detectors and they were activated by the blaze.ppquotI dont know if they didnt hear them go off. They did hear the dog bark thoughquot LaSassa said.ppAuthorities have not determined what caused the blaze.ppMuch of the home was destroyed though the residents were able to salvage some belongings that were in the homes bedrooms LaSassa said.ppEfforts to locate the homes occupants were unsuccessful.ppThe Winslow Township Fire Department provided cover at Hammonton fire stations while their crews battled the blaze LaSassa said.pbr table border0 cellspacing0 cellpadding1 width220 tbody tr tdnbsptd tr tbodytablediv
