10/02/10 Dog jumping for cake sets house on fire

by **Dark Blue** » Feb 11th, '10, 02:29

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A security agent in Jacksonville, Fla., is getting the credit for saving a family's home and dog from a fire hundreds of miles away.

After waiting several months, a family finally got a chance to thank the dispatch operator who helped them when their home caught fire.

First, there's how the fire started: The family's dog, Lucy, jumped up to try to eat a freshly baked cake sitting on top of the stove. On her way down, she turned the burner on and caught the cake pan on fire.

While still in training in Jacksonville, ADT dispatch operator David Brown, who works in Jacksonville, received a call alerting him of a home fire in Oklahoma.

ADT has six monitoring systems nationwide and in Canada. Those locations receive calls from all over the continent.

Brown quickly notified the local fire department and contacted the homeowner at work.

The call:

Brown: "Hi, Ms. Wardlow, I'm calling you regarding a fire alarm on the Wardlow premises."

Kay Wardlow: "Really?"

Brown: "Yes, ma'am."

Wardlow: "Oh, my God."

What Brown didn't know is the Wardlows' beloved family dog was inside the home. But firefighters rushed to the house and got Lucy out, uninjured.

"She means the world to us," Kay Wardlow said Tuesday.

The Wardlow family flew from Oklahoma to Jacksonville to personally thank Brown for his calm, quick response, which saved their home and their basset hound lab.

"It makes you feel like a hero," said Brown.

The family is able to laugh about it now, thanks to Brown. "Curious chocolate-loving dog," Wardlow said.