A Lindsay man livestreamed his dramatic rescue of a dog from a home that was on fire on Tuesday morning (February 2).
John Macdonald says he was out walking in the neighbourhood when he smelled burning plastic.
“I like to investigate things, so I ran three blocks to find I was first on scene,” Macdonald tells kawarthaNOW’s Sarah McNeilly, one of his Facebook friends.
After calling 911 to report the fire at 8 Melbourne Street West, Macdonald heard barking inside the home and realized a dog was trapped inside the home.
“I thought there were people in there too,” he says.
He began taking a live video, and noticed a propane tank near the fire.
“Is that a propane tank in there?,” he asks on the video. “It’s gonna blow.”
He had located the owner outside the home and asked if he could get inside. The owner said the keys were locked inside the house, so he asked if he could kick in the front door.
After getting her permission, he made several unsuccessful attempts to kick in the door.
VIDEO: John Macdonald attempts to get dog out of home on fire
Posted by John Macdonald on Tuesday, February 2, 2021
At this point, he stopped taking the video to figure out some other way to get inside the home.
“I smashed a window and climbed in,” he says.
After he got inside, another bystander got the door open and, with the Kawartha Lakes fire department now on the scene, they retrieved the dog from the burning home.
Macdonald says both the owner and the dog were uninjured in the fire.
Kawartha Lakes police closed Melbourne Street West between Lindsay Street South and William Street South for a fire investigation on Tuesday morning. The street has since been reopened.
