Two passers-by saved two dogs trapped when a house caught fire in Dunedin yesterday.
The two Weimaraners were in the garage of a Scobie St, Waverley, home when a fire broke out on the floor above about 12.30pm.
Richard Ogier and wife Kim, of Waverley, were driving along Scobie St when they discovered the fire.
"We could smell it [smoke] coming up the street,'' Mr Ogier said.
"The windows were quite dark with smoke and we could hear the dogs barking.''
The couple stopped and Mr Ogier ran to a neighbour's house to see if someone could help him get the garage door open.
He said it was clear nobody was inside.
Neighbour Scott Latimer grabbed a crowbar and the pair set about freeing the dogs.
"He had a crowbar and he just locked it under the door and got into it,'' Mr Ogier said.
"It was quite smoky in the garage. [The dogs] were pretty wound up. One was keen to get out and the other was not so keen.''
Mr Latimer said he did not really think about his own safety, and instead focused on getting the dogs out.
"I just grabbed the crowbar and wrenched it open,'' he said.
While the pair worked on getting the door open, Mrs Ogier went around to the rear of the property to see if she could get in the back door, but was unsuccessful.
She rang the Fire Service.
The couple stayed with the dogs until the owner arrived.
House owner Shona Brown, a Dunedin nurse, was too upset to comment yesterday.
Firefighters from Dunedin, Roslyn, St Kilda and Lookout Point stations attended.
Senior Station Officer Pete Douglas, of Dunedin, said it appeared the fire started in the kitchen area, but he could not be sure what caused it.
On arrival, firefighters encountered heavy smoke and flames and two crews with breathing apparatus were required, he said.
Smoke alarms were sounding, so it was timely to remind homeowners to check theirs were working for early detection, Mr Douglas said.
