Natchez resident credits dog with alerting her of house fire
Published 12:10 am Sunday, August 10, 2014
![Angela Singleton inspects the room where the fire started in her North Rankin Street house Friday. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to a single room. (Sam Gause / The Natchez Democrat)](https:https://www.natchezdemocrat.com//wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2014/08/080914_HouseFire2_webMAIN_SG.jpg)
Angela Singleton inspects the room where the fire started in her North Rankin Street house Friday. Firefighters were able to contain the blaze to a single room. (Sam Gause / The Natchez Democrat)
NATCHEZ — Angela Singleton may owe her life and her house to her four-legged friend, Reese’s, at least in a round about way.
The North Rankin Street resident had an unusual Friday afternoon that started with what she thought was an ordinary sound.
![Singleton’s dog Reese’s walks on her front porch after Natchez Fire Department firefighters put out a fire at her house Friday. (Sam Gause / The Natchez Democrat)](https:https://www.natchezdemocrat.com//wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2014/08/080914_HouseFire4_web_SG-300x199.jpg)
Singleton’s dog Reese’s walks on her front porch after Natchez Fire Department firefighters put out a fire at her house Friday. (Sam Gause / The Natchez Democrat)
At approximately noon, Singleton thought she heard Reese’s scratching at the front door — the dog’s usual way of requesting to be let back into the house.
Singleton walked to the front door, but soon realized Reese’s wasn’t the one making the noise.
The sound was actually sparks coming from an air-conditioning unit. Those sparks soon caught Singleton’s house on fire.
Singleton hurried outside as the fire began consuming one of the bedrooms in the house.
She yelled for help and, thankfully, was heard by her next-door neighbor David Williams, who happens to be the battalion chief for the Natchez Fire Department.
Williams came outside to investigate Singleton’s cries for help and quickly called the fire department.
After fire crews arrived, the fire was extinguished in a matter of minutes.
The damage was contained to the bedroom of the house.
Singleton wondered what could have been if she didn’t have Reese’s around.
“I wouldn’t have noticed the fire if I hadn’t heard what I thought was the scratching,” she said. “The dog saved my life.”