Dog Credited With Saving Man From House Fire

A man who had removed his hearing aids at bedtime says it was his dog who alerted him to the fact that their house was on fire.

The Newcastle house was destroyed by fire Sunday night. Stan Brown's wife was out of town, so he was alone in the Bunker Hill Road home when the fire broke out. Although the house is equipped with working smoke detectors, Stan couldn't hear them because he's hearing impaired and had taken out his hearing aids at bedtime.

But his Rottweiler Shepherd named Gypsy heard the alarms, and woke him up. The two went out the bedroom window and escaped the flames. Brown told WGME-TV he likely wouldn't be here today if not for the dog.

The State Fire Marshal's Office will be on the scene today, working to determine what sparked the fire.