An early morning house fire just outside of Kent, Washington has firefighters sounding the alarm on safety precautions when using pellet stoves.
Sunday's fire spread inside of a house on 164th Avenue Southeast just outside of Kent.
A family of five managed to escape but firefighters had to rescue one of the family pets.
The family's Boston terrier, Cowboy, needed some oxygen after what he went through.
The homeowner, Jerry Hammond, was holding the dog as he got oxygen through a specialized mask for animals.
“We thought we lost him. Out of all the dogs, he kind of hid and he was in there for quite some time," said Hammond.
Hammond and his family were sleeping when he says a fire burning in a pellet stove spread to the floor and basement.
Hammond said he bought the pellet stove a few months ago.
"When we arrived on scene we saw flames coming out of a vent from the house," said Perciful.
The fire department says the smartest thing the homeowners did was call 911 immediately instead of trying to put the fire out themselves.
The cold weather has again led to chimney and stove fires in the region.
Pellet stove burning is still allowed under a Stage One burn ban.
Mountain View Fire and Rescue urges users to make sure pellet stoves are installed and inspected by an authorized worker.
"Make sure you're only burning what you're supposed to burn in there. Don't burn trash or anything like that. And also make sure that there's nothing near there. Keep your pets away, keep packages away," said Perciful.
The house did not suffer major damage. Neither did Cowboy.
“He's OK. We'll have him checked out,” said Hammond.
After a burst of fresh air courtesy of the animal oxygen masks, Cowboy is ready to head back home.
The family also had working smoke alarms inside the house.
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