Startling footage from a New Mexico living room shows the exact moment a playful nine-month-old puppy accidentally set fire to their family’s home.
The video, which has been shared as a cautionary tale by Los Alamos County Fire Department, shows young pup Kahuna scampering around playfully with the family’s other dog, Paige, before barging into an ironing board piled with various items.
The board is tipped over onto a floor heating grate, causing poor Kahuna to leap back onto the couch in fright. As the video cuts forward, the more mature Paige has quite wisely left the room, while Kahuna remains nonchalantly looking at the flames which have begun to take hold.
You can watch the fire erupt, in footage taken January 29, for yourself below:
Fortunately, Kahuna and Paige were both evacuated from the house uninjured, and firefighters were able to extinguish the fire quickly and limit damage to the property.
However, the department has since issued a grave warning to other homeowners, with the situation having had the potential to be very dangerous indeed.
Taking to Facebook, a representative for the Los Alamos County Fire Department wrote:
LAFD recommends homeowners ensure that smoke alarms are installed and working, that no combustible items be placed on or within three feet of heating devices or heat producing appliances, especially when pets are left home alone and could knock items onto the heaters.
Portable heaters should not be operated when unattended. Another important safety practice is to have an escape plan, as demonstrated in the video perfectly by Paige, the older canine.
Kahuna, who declined to comment, is expected to be enrolled in dog training or Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention classes soon!
According to this statement, the grate had been creating enough heat to actually melt the clothes. This then passed into the heater, working as a fuel to kick-start the blaze about one hour later.
A US fire department reportedly responds to a fire every 24 seconds, with a fire in a structure occurring once ever 63 seconds. A house fire will occur every 88 seconds.
No doubt Kahuna is a very good pup indeed really, and there really is no reason to suspect this is the beginning of an arson spree. Thank goodness Kahuna, Paige and their humans are safe, but let’s take this to be a reminder of just how quickly and easily a fire can spark.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.