Couple thanks firefighters for saving dog from burning Roanoke House

ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - A family in the Star City is now all together - after firefighters rescued the Roanoke couple’s dog from their burning home. Thursday, they were all reunited and WDBJ7 was there to capture the moment.

A true friend leaves paw prints on your heart. That’s what doggie Gracie has done for Dana Glenn and Marty Dickens.

“She’s been a part of our lives for over five years. She’s helped me get over the death of just about all my family,” said Glenn.

May 30, Dickens and an electrician noticed black smoke coming from upstairs. Everyone ran outside but their 90-pound dog was stuck inside. The couple tried 4 times to save Gracie from the flames but failed.

“Chief came over the radio and said that there was a big black dog in there and that’s kind of what we were looking for,” said Roanoke Fire-EMS First Lieutenant Chris White.

White located the dog and handed it off to another fireman.

“And he had her like this and she looked just limp,; like dead weight I honestly thought that she had passed,” said Dickens.

First responders rendered first aid and transported the dog in an ambulance to the Roanoke emergency vet – saving her life.

“I think people get complacent; they think, well, that’s their job; they’re supposed to put the fire out, they’re supposed to get the bad guy, you know, they’re supposed to save a life,” explained Dickens. “It doesn’t always work that way; these are real people who are putting their lives on the line.”

Thursday, Glenn and Dickens visited the fire crews to thank them for their heroic actions.

“It means a lot for us to, you know, just do our jobs and have them come back and show their appreciation,” added White.

Fire marshals say the fire was electrical and accidental.

“And it’s just a really happy ending to something that could’ve been a horrible tragedy,” explained Glenn. “And we just feel so blessed to have the Roanoke Fire Department as part of our community.”

The couple is planning to donate $1.000 to Roanoke’s SPCA in honor of the firefighters. The local organization partners with the fire department to foster rescue dogs.

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