Dog leaps from window to escape burning home in heart-stopping video: ‘Come on, Charlie!’
A dog makes a daring leap out the window to escape a burning house.
What an escape! We’re glad this brave dog is safe now!
It is sometimes said that cats have “nine lives” because they are able to land on their feet. But the same can be said of a dog, who bravely escaped a burning house by jumping out of a second story window.
According to NBC Philadelphia, a man named Justin Steinmetz noticed a smoke-filled house in Fleetwood, Berks County, while on his way to work. No one was inside the house – adults were at work and children were at school – and Justin frantically tried to find help.
He asked all the other drivers to call 911 and began trying to put out the fire with a garden hose, to no avail. Firefighters quickly arrived to fight the flames.
But the scenario took a dramatic turn after the family’s dog, Charlie, saw the second story window of the house, desperately trying to escape.
Firefighters persuaded Charlie to jump out the window, the only way to safety. In a dramatic second captured on video by Justin, the dog makes a brave jump. Although he was charred by the fire, he made it out alive.
“His mouth and lungs were full of smoke, and he jumped to safety,” Justin told NBC. “He jumped when he wanted to, that’s what matters.”
The family’s other dog, along with their two cats, were also found at the scene after they managed to escape the house.
While it is extremely fortunate that the animals survived, the owners, known as the Stump family, “lost everything” in the fire. A GoFundMe marketing campaign has been set up to help them get back on their feet after losing their home.
“We are very grateful that they are okay, but we are painfully aware that their lives will be deeply affected by the devastating fire that ravaged their home today,” the website reads. The webpage has raised $40,000 for the family.
But Justin, who runs a farm and says he will loan the family some goats for “goat therapy,” says the survival of the animals is an initial ray of hope.
“I feel blessed that the animals got out alive, that’s the most important thing,” he told NBC.
What a spectacular escape from that burning house! We are so happy that Charlie is now safe, and we are sending this family our thoughts and prayers that they will recover from this devastating fire.
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