ALBANY, GA (WALB) -
Three dogs died in a house fire in central Albany March 19th, which appears to have been caused by an electrical short.
Emergency responders were alerted of a fire at 910 West Tift Avenue after a neighbor called 911 and said smoke was pouring from the back of the house.
"I just happened to walk outside and it's all going down. And I said, 'why are they burning their fireplace,'" said Fred McCartherens, a neighborhood resident. "The smoke just kept getting bigger, bigger, bigger. I said, 'oh no, no, no. House on fire,' now that's all I saw."
When firefighters arrived on scene, they quickly extinguished the flames and searched the house. Once inside, they found three of dead animals.
"Initially had a report there was somebody inside. Primary and secondary search we didn't find any individuals. Unfortunately we did have a couple dogs that perished in the fire," said Bat. Chief Kelly Harper, Albany Fire Department.
Neighbors say the owner of the home had one full grown pit bull and two pit bull puppies, but Harper was unable to identify the breed of the dogs.
Investigators say the fire was likely caused by an electrical spark from a faulty appliance.
"At this point we determined the fire started behind the refrigerator-freezer in the family room of the house," said Harper.
Most of the damage caused from the flames was isolated to the family room, and no injuries have been reported at this time. Harper says the rest of the house did sustain heat and smoke damage.
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Bat. Chief Kelly Harper, Albany Fire Department
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