CORTLAND, N.Y. — A Cortland family is thanking their dog for acting as a smoke detector when the basement dryer went up in flames.
At about 9 p.m. Monday, a household on East Court Street was awakened by their barking dog after smoke began rising from the basement. The family quickly ran outside and called 911.
Firefighters arrived to find an electric clothes dryer in the basement had caught fire, filling the basement and first floor of the home with smoke.
A family member had thrown a bowl of water on the burning pillows as they left the house, allowing firefighters to quickly extinguish the blaze when they arrived, according to Deputy Fire Chief Wayne Friedman. The damage was contained to the dryer.
The home did not have working smoke detectors, and after the fire was put out, firefighters installed free smoke detectors in the home. The free smoke detector program is available to city residents over 65.
