TRURO - A week ago, Joyce and Charlie Turner's toy poodles were merely family pets. Now, they are fondly looked upon as the couple's "heroes."
"They woke me up and right after that I heard the fire alarm and I went out and opened the door and saw all the smoke ...," Charlie said of the couple's early morning fire last Monday.
It was shortly before 3 a.m. when the Turners were awakened by the barking and panicked actions of their two dogs, Freedie and Mittens.
At first, Joyce just thought her dogs were acting up because they needed to be let out. Far from being late-night pests, however, the dogs' actions prevented what the Turners believe would otherwise have been a tragedy.
"Scary..." Charlie said. "The little one's there, they did the work for us."
"I don't think we would have gotten out," Joyce added.
In the nightmarishly dark and confusing environment, Charlie said his brain was in overdrive as he got them into a crouch position and attempted to lead the way out through the billowing smoke.
"You try to think, 'OK, out through the window, (or) out through the front door, (or) out the back door, which way to go?' So, I took the shortest route and got out (through the patio door.)"
Once outside, Charlie sent his wife to a neighbour's house to call the fire department while he went back inside to fetch a pair of boots. It was almost a costly decision, as he ended up with smoke inhalation for which he was briefly treated at the hospital.
Between the smoke, water and fire damage, Charlie said the blaze will cost more than $100,000 to reconstruct their home, which will require a new roof and at least one wall, among other things. The fire has been deemed accidental.
It was about three days after the incident before things really hit home for Joyce, who said she "bawled and cried" until there were no more tears.
The couple, who are now living out of a local motel, said they lost everything. But their home was insured and while it will take awhile to get their lives back to normal, the most important thing is that they all survived, Charlie said.
"It was a bad experience but it was material things ... I try to keep a sense of humour about it. Some hard at times."
A lasting impression for both, however, was the quick and professional actions of the fire fighters who responded to the blaze and to whom the couple credits for saving their home.
"Overall, the fire department was amazing. They were there in 15 or 20 minutes and had everything under control," Charlie said. "Quick response and the nicest bunch of people you ever want to meet. Excellent people."
It's one thing to hear of fire fighters responding to someone's else's misfortune Joyce added, and something entirely different when it's your own.
"You never think about people who do that stuff ... you never think about all those fire fighters until you go through it yourself. I was just sitting in the truck thinking, 'amazing, it's five o'clock in the morning and they're still going ..."
The Turners were also appreciative of the speedy service they received at the Colchester Regional Hospital when they went there to deal with smoke inhalation.
"The hospital was excellent, the fire department was amazing," Charlie said.
