Dog praised after alerting owners to home fire

Jessie, a five-year-old rescue dog, alerted her sleeping owners as their property filled with smoke

A family pet has been praised by firefighters after she alerted her owners to a fire.

Jessie, a five-year-old rescue dog, woke up her owners who were in a "deep sleep" as their property in New Polzeath, Cornwall, filled with smoke.

Josh Plowman, Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service station watch manager, said everyone was "able to escape unharmed" thanks to Jessie's work.

Firefighters from Wadebridge and Delabole Community fire stations were called to the property at about 06:00 BST on Thursday.

Mr Plowman said Jessie's owners and the firefighters were full of praise for the dog

Mr Plowman said: "Firefighters entered and located the fire, which was promptly dealt with.

"It was only after this that the family informed us that it was actually Jessie who had roused them from a deep sleep as the property was filling with smoke.

"They were able to escape unharmed, and called for the emergency services."

'Loyal companion'

Mr Plowman said Jessie's owners and the firefighters were full of praise for the dog.

"They informed us she is an incredibly loyal companion as shown this morning," he said.

"They also informed us that she's a five-year-old rescue [dog] from Romania."

The fire crew said the cause of the fire was an electric heater.

Mr Plowman advised people to fit smoke detectors and to check household appliances.

He said: "We advise not to leave electric heaters switched on if you leave the house and just to ensure that nothing is placed directly on to or in the nearby vicinity of one, as this greatly increases the risk of fire.

"Obviously, dogs in particular have a heightened sense of smell so they're often able to detect smoke even before smoke detectors activate, and that was the case this morning."