Watch CBS News

Dog Credited With Alerting Woman To Fire At Motel

RANCHO CORDOVA (CBS13) - An 8-year-old shih tzu is being credited with alerting a woman to a fire in a motel in Rancho Cordova overnight.

Residents at Vince's Motel on Folsom Boulevard in Ranch Cordova are breathing a big sigh of relief Friday after a fire in one of the units was quickly doused before it could spread to the rest of the building.

The fire broke out in a unit on the bottom floor. Judy Brossart says she was in the middle of cooking eggs when she left the kitchen to go to the bathroom. A couple of minutes later, she heard her dog, Scruffy Chewbacca, barking and scratching on the door. When she opened the door she saw the kitchen engulfed in flames.

"There's something weird smelling. I've never smelled that before ever in my life. What is that? And then I opened the door and there were already flames coming out of the kitchen and I was only in there maybe 2-3 minutes," said Brossart.

Not only did Scruffy Chewbacca help, but another quick-thinking resident fought the flames with a fire extinguisher. When firefighters arrived, they only had to spray the flames for about a minute.

Fire says the fire didn't spread to any other units.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.