When Charlotte Scott hopped into the bath for a relaxing soak, little did she know of the drama that was about to follow.
Her pet Staffordshire bull terrier Cody suddenly started barking loudly and sniffing the walls of her home – alerting Charlotte to the fact something was very wrong.
Minutes later a cloud of smoke filled her bedroom as flames took hold of the house next door.
The 24-year-old called the fire brigade. Firefighters quickly arrived at the row of terraced houses in Shrewsbury Road, Stafford, and rescued Diesel, another Staffie, from next door.
Miss Scott said today: “The firefighters were praising Cody and calling her a hero. It’s amazing what she did.”
The fire was caused by a candle in an upstairs bedroom on Monday afternoon.
Miss Scott’s neighbour’s house suffered smoke damage. Windows upstairs and downstairs also shattered as a result of the heat and clothes were destroyed. Twelve firefighters fought the blaze for around an hour-and-a-half. Miss Scott had to be evacuated from her home while crews tackled the flames.
She said: “I was in the bath at the time and I could see Cody sniffing around in my bedroom. I thought nothing of it.
“But then she started barking at the wall. She doesn’t normally bark so I was surprised. I suddenly saw a big cloud of smoke.
“I went outside and saw smoke coming from the upstairs window next door. I called 999 straight away.”
Miss Scott said she was aware Diesel was in the property alone and said she was worried about his safety.
She continued: “If it wasn’t for Cody who knows what would have happened?
“I wouldn’t have known there was a fire next door and it could have been a lot worse.”
Watch manager at Stafford fire station, Liam Hickey, praised Cody’s actions.
He said: “A neighbour alerted us to the fire thanks to their dog who had a keen nose for sniffing out smoke coming through from next door. We rescued another dog from downstairs in the property when we entered.”
