Dog alerts family to fire in house, family escapes uninjured

The family tells News 12 they are overwhelmed by the support that the community has given them so far.

News 12 Staff

Jan 5, 2023, 1:30 PM

Updated 636 days ago

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A Bardonia family says their dog alerted them to a fire in their home early Saturday morning. 
Stephanie Mulhall says she put her two children to sleep before she and her husband went to bed Friday evening.
"About...1:35 a.m. to 1:40 a.m., our dog started scratching at our door. We just thought she had to go out because she doesn't sleep with us. She sleeps downstairs and then as soon as I opened the door, I ingested fumes. And as soon as my husband went downstairs, he saw the house on fire," she says. 
Mulhall immediately called 911, grabbed her kids and her dogs before the fire alarm went off in her house. 
"They were screaming and crying because the fire alarms were loud. They both were scared. The older one was able to jump right out of bed, I carried the baby down the stairs because he was very scared," she says. 
Clarkstown police say the Nanuet Fire Department, along with New City, West Nyack and Pearl River, worked together to put the fire out. The Clarkstown fire inspector believes the fire started outside. 
No one was injured, but the house was deemed uninhabitable. 
The family tells News 12 they are overwhelmed by the support that the community has given them so far, including clothing, shoes, hats, scarves and Christmas gifts for the children.   
A GoFundMe has been set up to help the family.