Nine dogs killed in Walsall garden blaze
Nine dogs died and a man was taken to hospital after a blaze ripped through a kennel in the back garden of a Walsall home.
A 66-year-old man, thought to be the dogs' owner, tried in vain to rescue them from the fire and suffered smoke inhalation.
Firefighters put out the blaze in the wooden structure behind a house in Lichfield Road, New Invention. The dogs were all Chihuahuas, three of which were puppies.
Paramedics took the man to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton as a precaution after he made a desperate attempt to save the family pets following the fire at about 5pm on Wednesday.
He had tried to save the dogs by entering the kennel, which measured six metres by three metres.
A West Midlands Fire Service spokeswoman said it was totally destroyed as a result of the fire.
Neighbours described seeing flames leaping into the air from the back garden. Smoke filled the air as rescue teams arrived to battle the blaze, which one resident said was 'massive'.
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: "The call came from the fire service. The fire had started in the back garden in something that seems be used as a kennel and there was a number of deceased dogs.
"We sent two ambulances to the scene and we transported a 66-year-old man. He had gone into the shed to try to rescue the dogs. He suffered smoke inhalation and reddening of the skin caused by the fire so he was taken to New Cross Hospital as a precaution. He was given oxygen and some drugs to free up his airways."
A woman who lives in the street, and did not want to be named, said: "I saw all the flames and the smoke. The fire was massive."
Another neighbour, Dennis Bate, aged 65, said: "I saw the fire engines. Some neighbours called the fire brigade.
"The shed is a charred ruin. It's tragic what has happened."
Another resident, who didn't want to give his name, said: "The flames were about roof height. It's dreadful."
