Dog Alerts Woodridge Family of House Fire

The family dog's bark alerted a Woodridge family that their house was on fire before the smoke alarms were triggered early Friday morning, helping everyone exit safely 

At 4:10 a.m. Oct. 11, the Darien-Woodridge Fire Protection District responded to the fire in the 1200 block of Richfield Court. There were no injuries. 

The house remains habitable, according to a news release, but there was an estimated $30,000 in damage. The cause of the fire is being investigated, and the focus area is near a 12-volt landscaping light transformer. 

Working smoke detectors didn't activate until about five minutes after firefighters were on the scene because the exterior fire didn't produce enough smoke inside to trigger them immediately. Instead it was the dog's bark that alerted the residents. 

In the news release, the fire district wanted to remind residents to have working smoke detectors, a family escape plan and backed up documents.