Retriever's Nose Acts Faster Than Smoke Alarms During Blaze

A Labrador retriever with a sharp nose helped his owners safely escape their burning home in Potomac early yesterday morning when his frantic barking awakened them minutes before smoke alarms went off.

The quick reaction by Jet, an adult black Lab who normally slept on a pillow in the kitchen near his basket of dog treats, also helped shave minutes off the response time for firefighters, allowing them to isolate the blaze in the garage and save most of the home, according to Montgomery County fire officials.

The owners, which county records identify as Steven and Lisa Kelber, could not be reached to comment yesterday. Part of their spacious red brick house in the 11600 block of Lake Potomac Drive was destroyed by the fire, which officials said caused about $1.2 million in damage. More than 75 firefighters battled the two-alarm blaze, containing it within half an hour.

Pete Piringer, spokesman for the Montgomery Fire and Rescue Service, said the fire began in the garage and was not suspicious. The garage and a second-story room above it were gutted, and three family vehicles were reduced to melted hulks.

"The smoke alarms did activate later, but fortunately the family pet started barking first, giving them an early warning," Piringer said. "That dog did everything right."

Piringer said the Kelbers and a visitor got out of the house uninjured and called 911 about 1:30 a.m. The couple have two children in their 20s, but they reportedly were not at home.

Several neighbors on the winding, wooded drive said the fire made them think more carefully about their own safety, and Piringer said fire officials will be visiting each home in the community to talk about fire prevention. He said the fire would have done much less damage had the house been equipped with sprinklers, which are now required on all new homes in the county.

"It is really a wake-up call," said Sandy Landsman, who lives several houses away. "I am an artist, and I have paint and solvents and other flammable things in the basement. It makes you reassess what you have stored away."

Jet, who was being kept at another neighbor's house yesterday afternoon, stood briefly in the doorway, wagging his tail and looking heroic.