A rescue dog has saved a Northern Tablelands family after alerting them to a fire in the early hours of Friday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The family managed to escape unharmed before the blaze completely tore through the single-storey home.
“I was asleep in bed and Buddy, a rescue dog, jumped on the bed and licked my face and woke me,” homeowner Judy Scrivener said.
The Glen Innes resident and animal rights activist picked up Buddy through her Inverell-based rescue dog service called Dogs Without Borders.
“As soon as I woke up I could smell smoke … I jumped into action and it happened in a blur,” she said.
“I grabbed my son who is almost blind and put him out in our vehicle and took the dogs out.”
Judy lost her phone in the process and had to call on her neighbours to contact fire crews.
Local crews fought the fire for two hours following the alert at around 2am Friday morning.
“It was totally burnt out inside and the family has totally lost everything,” Glen Innes Fire Brigade Captain Earl Sharman said.
NSW Northern Tablelands RFS manager Christopher Walbridge said Red Range Brigade, NSW Fire Rescue and Glen Innes Rural Fire Service responded.
“The structure was completely destroyed,” he said.
“At this stage the blaze is still under investigation.”
Donations such as clothes and household items are being accepted at the Glen Innes and District Community Centre to help Judy and her son get back on their feet this Christmas.
