A dog has died a hero in a Redding fire over the weekend.  The initial call on Sunday came into Danbury Fire Department about a basement fire on Long Ridge Road.  It was actually the other end of the street, which is technically West Redding. 

Occupants reported that they were all out of the house, except for a dog.  Crews encountered heavy smoke and high heat conditions while conducting a search of the house. The large dog was found under a bed on the second floor and removed from the building.  West Redding used pet resuscitation equipment to attempt the resuscitate the dog, but were unsuccessful. 

Firefighters later learned that the family dog's barking woke the family of three and alerted them to the fire.  The parents and their 11 year old son and their two dogs were all sleeping on the second floor.  Both dogs had exited with the three people, but the hero dog ran back into the house.

The father attempted to go back in after the dog, but the extreme smoke and rising heat prevented his efforts. 

Mutual aid was provided by Bethel and Georgetown. A Bethel paramedic evaluated the family for smoke inhalation concerns. The fire is being investigated by the Redding Fire Marshals office.