Dogs Wake Man, Save Him From House Fire
A 35-year-old man is alive today because his two dogs awakened him during an early morning house fire in Topanga, Los Angeles County fire officials said. The dogs died in the blaze.
James Weiner, who had recently moved into the house in the 700 block of Old Topanga Canyon Road, was treated at Westlake Medical Center for second- and third-degree burns to his back, arms and hands, said firefighter Howard Spinrad, a spokesman for the department.
Weiner later was transferred to the Sherman Oaks Burn Center, where spokeswoman Johna Rogovin said his condition was listed as fair. The victim was burned over 25% of his body, she said.
The fire started about 3:15 a.m. in stacks of magazines and other combustibles piled near a living room wall heater, Spinrad said. Weiner was asleep upstairs in the two-story house and was awakened by the barking of his dogs.
Firefighters, who extinguished the fire in about 20 minutes, credited the dogs’ barking with saving Weiner’s life.
One firefighter, who was not named, received second-degree burns on his hands, Spinrad said.
Damage was estimated at $90,000 to the house and $20,000 to its contents.
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