OCALA, Fla. — An Ocala man escaped a fire in his home early Monday morning after he was alerted by his dog’s barking.
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Ocala first responders were called to reports of a house fire at a unit in the Villas at Spanish Oaks mobile home community just before 3 a.m. Monday.
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Units arrived to find an exterior wall of the home on fire and the owner standing outside with his dog.
Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames and confirm that the blaze hadn’t extended to the home’s interior.
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After speaking to the homeowner, firefighters say he told them his dog had started barking in the middle of the night and woke him out of bed.
According to the fire department, it was while checking to see what was bothering the dog that the man found the fire.
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“Thanks to the dog’s alertness and the owner’s curiosity, the fire was identified and attacked before damage extended beyond the area of origin,” Ashley Lopez with the fire department said.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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