Times staff
Saturday, December 18, 2010
TAMPA — Firefighters plucked a chihuahua named Smoky from a burning house Saturday evening and extinguished flames that started with a clothes dryer.
Tampa Fire Rescue said Herman Brown, 55, and his wife left a load of clothes in the running dryer when they left their home at 1213 E Emma St.
Neighbor Vender Moore, 34, later heard a noise and went to investigate with a friend. The two men saw smoke coming from Brown's house and heard a smoke alarm beeping.
Moore and his friend, Curtis Harris, 34, took a garden hose and tried to keep the flames at bay until Tampa Fire Rescue arrived. Firefighters, told that Smoky was inside, found him unharmed in a closet.
Investigators said the fire probably started with dryer lint buildup and caused $25,0000 in damage.
Tampa Fire investigators said Moore and Harris' actions probably saved ...