Dogs rescued from burning house and given CPR by heroic neighbours
Two dogs have been saved from a severe house fire thanks to the bravery of neighbours who went in to rescue them from their burning home.
Residents in Coven, near Wolverhampton, spoke of how the two Jack Russell Terriers were carried out of the house and given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation by a woman living nearby.
A third dog, a husky, managed to escape on her own after the back door of the house was broken down by neighbours.
The fire was believed to have broken out around 5.30pm on Sunday and spread quickly through the semi-detached house, with one neighbour, who didn't want to be named, describing the events which followed.
She said: "I was just sitting in the living room when I got a huge bang on the window, which was my ex-husband knocking on the window.
"He said the woman who owned the house had asked for the fire brigade to be called because the house was on fire and her dogs were still in the house.
"I called the fire brigade, while he went round to the house to try and bash the back door in and, with help from a man living a few houses up, they managed to get the door open.
"He then crawled on his hands and knees and managed to pull the two smaller dogs out, before handing them to a woman who gave them mouth-to-mouth as they weren't breathing.
"She managed to revive both of them, while the larger third dog, a husky, managed to run out on her own, then the fire brigade arrived and took over from there."
The house was left with substantial damage downstairs, with pieces of burnt furniture left on the front lawn outside the house and the windows and doors boarded up.
Karen Laycock, who lives across the road, said the area was very tight-knit and said she wasn't surprised to see everyone working to help during the fire.
She said: "It's absolutely brilliant to see everyone come together when something like this happens.
"I'm in a bit of shock about what happened, but the important thing is that everyone is ok and while they'll have a lot of work to repair the house, at least they're all alive."
Ms Laycock also said the woman who gave the two Jack Russells mouth-to-mouth resuscitation should be rewarded for her bravery, as well as the two men who broken the door down.
She said: "I really think they should all be given a medal for what they did as they did so much to save those dogs.
"From what people were telling me, those dogs had almost passed, so she did an amazing job as not many other people would have thought of that."
A spokesman for Staffordshire Fire and Rescue said: "Firefighters were called at 4.59pm to a property following reports of a house fire.
"One crew from Penkridge and two from Fallings Park attended the scene.
"The occupants of the building were out of the property upon arrival along with three dogs.
"Crews located a severe fire on the ground-floor of the property.
"Firefighters used two breathing apparatus, one hose-reel jet, along with a further jet and a fan to extinguish the fire which was later deemed accidental.
"Crews left the scene at 7.51pm."
