Dogs Save Family From Fire That Gutted Home in Van Nuys

Two dogs were credited with saving a family from a fire that gutted a home in Van Nuys Monday.

They woke up the residents at 6280 Van Noord Avenue when the fire broke out around 1 a.m, the Los Angeles Fire Department said.

Heavy fire on the front porch, possibly caused by smoking, spread to the one-story single-family residence. There were no smoke detectors in the home, but the animals alerted the homeowner to the blaze.

Three people evacuated the home, though one man suffered minor burns to his hand. He refused transport to a hospital for treatment, fire officials said.

"Had the dogs not acted, this could have been a fatal blaze,'' LAFD spokesman Brian Humphrey said.

He added the occupants "would have been much better off to place their trust in a smoke alarm.''

It took 25 firefighters 21 minutes to put out the blaze. It caused an estimated $120,000 worth of damage to the property, $80,000 in damage to the structure and $40,000 to the contents.