GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) — You’ve heard of the saying “a dog is a man’s best friend,” but how about a guardian angel?
That’s what a Guilford County homeowner said after his dog alerted him their house was on fire.
Stella is more than just a king shepherd.
In the eyes of her owner Kevin Klee, she’s a hero after she alerted him their house was on fire on the morning of Nov. 15.
“If Stella hadn’t been there to warn me, it could’ve gone very badly,” Klee said.
He was working in the basement of his home off Summit Lakes Drive in Browns Summit when he knew something wasn’t right.
“And at about 8:25 a.m., I heard Stella barking. She barks on a regular basis if somebody comes to the house, but that’s more of an aggressive bark … This was a tentative bark,” Klee said.
Klee ran upstairs to investigate.
“I opened the garage door, and it’s just black smoke in there. Pitch black in there. I couldn’t even see the car in the garage. Shut the door. It was a fire door. Thank goodness for that,” Klee said.
Klee quickly grabbed a leash and got him and Stella out of the home. While doing so, Klee says something inside exploded.
“Just like a muffled explosion. Like a gas can blowing up or whatever. They were pretty quick. The first one went off, and I heard about three or four when I was down here … Some cars in the garage … were totaled,” Klee said.
According to Guilford County, EMS dozens of agencies worked together to put out the flames.
Klee says if it wasn’t for his furry best friend, this could’ve been a different story.
“She saved me, and I saved her. Kind of like a package deal,” Klee said.
For the time being, Klee says he, his wife and Stella are staying with their daughter. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, he’s counting his blessings.
“It was our favorite house. We loved it dearly. We got most of our pictures. All of the living beings in the house were safe. For that, we’re very thankful … If I wasn’t working at home, we would’ve lost Stella and the house, and we would’ve never forgiven ourselves,” Klee said.
FOX8 reached out to the Northeast Guilford Fire Department about the cause of the fire, and Chief Jeff Chrismon says that’s still undetermined.
