It was the dog, not the smoke alarm, that got this North Carolina family out of bed.
A rescue dog named Bing Crosby is being praised after his frantic barking alerted his family to a house fire before their alarms sounded.
According to The Transylvania Times, Bing Crosby, who belongs to homeowner Joleen Brannigan, started barking at about 5 a.m. Brannigan got up to investigate and at first thought an animal outside had set him off.
“I woke up to see what had alerted him, thinking perhaps a bear or something was on the deck but immediately saw the flames, well before the fire alarms went off,” Brannigan told the outlet.
“Luckily, Bing gave us time to safely get out of the house and call 911,” Brannigan added.
The Transylvania Times reported that fire and rescue teams arrived within minutes.
After fire officials extinguished the flames, about a third of the home was destroyed.
The incident has quickly made Bing Crosby a local hero.
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