Man Enters Burning Home To Save Pet

    A quick-acting passerby is being credited for saving a dog, and potentially a neighbor, when a fire broke out at a Umatilla duplex last Thursday afternoon. The fire, reported on August 18 around 3:15 p.m., damaged the duplex, which is located near the Lakeview Street and Lakeshore Avenue intersection.
    Units from Umatilla, Eustis, and Lake County responded to the scene, where a fire was raging in an attic area. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire within 20-30 minutes, and no injuries were reported.
    The home where the fire started was reportedly unoccupied at the time of the fire, except for a dog. Thanks to Umatilla resident Greg Hawthorne, that dog, as well as a resident in the adjoining unit, were able to get out of the structure.
    Hawthorne was passing by the area and spotted the fire.
    “I just got done mowing on Snake Island,” Hawthorne said. “At first, I thought it was steam coming off the roof, like after a rain. But then I smelled it.”
    Hawthorne knocked on both homes' doors, and a resident in the adjacent unit was alerted and came outside. However, Hawthorne continued to hear barking.
    “I heard this little dog barking, it was inside.” Hawthorne was able to kick in the home’s front door and retrieve the dog from a room in the home, and also found water running through the house.
    “I could see water coming out.”
    While the official cause of the fire wasn’t immediately available, Hawthorne felt a hot water heater, or even a washing machine, could have been part of the equation.