Oct 16, 2007 10:00 am US/Eastern
Dog Survives Fire By Breathing Through Drain
FARMINGVILLE, N.Y. (AP) ―
You might think this big shaggy Newfoundland dog, named Jackson, read the firefghter's survival manual. The dog did everything right when a fire destroyed its Farmingville, Long Island home yesterday. Firefighters say they found Jackson in the bathtub with his nose pressed against the drain getting fresh air.
The dog's owner - Debbie Credidio - told Newsday that Jackson likes to lay in the bathroom to escape the heat. Going to his favorite spot may have saved the 3-year-old Newfoundland's life.
Firefighters Vince Egbert and Edgar Trejo pulled aside a shower curtain and found the dog "actually sucking air out of the drainpipe, which is an old-school thing that a fireman would do."
Egbert said the 130-pound dog was trapped by intense heat for 40 minutes. "For a dog to make it through something like that was amazing," he said.
Jackson was unharmed, as was Credidio's 74-year-old mother, Marcia Kaye, who escaped the blaze that all but destroyed the home. The cause is being investigated.
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