Dog wakes owners to alert them to fire, family escapes safely

A local dog is being hailed a hero after it helped save a family from a fire.

The family tells Red Paw Relief that they were woken up by their 2-year-old Shepard/Pit Bill mix Jack, who licked their faces to wake them.

When they awoke around 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, they discovered their home on the 1400 block of North Alden Street was on fire.

Thanks to Jack's quick thinking, four adults and five children were able to make it out of the house safely.

Jack and one of the family's cats also made it out safely, and are being cared for. Sadly, one cat was not able to make it out of the house.