On the afternoon of Oct. 2, 2013, the Jonas family was getting ready to have dinner before heading to a Little League game when their house in Merced, Calif., caught fire. All family members including the Jonas’s three pets were unharmed, but one of the four-legged members had to be rescued by Merced firefighters.
It was past 5 p.m. when Karri Jonas overheard something falling in her backyard. She assumed the dogs had knocked something over and asked Frankie, her 11-year old son, to check it out.
When the child got outside he screamed.
“The garage was engulfed in flames,” Jonas told Merced Sun-Star.
Immediately, the mother called 911 and while she waited for fire rescuers to arrive she tried to contain the flames using her garden hose. Once firefighters arrived they moved the family to safety and took over fighting the flames.
The Jonas’s Chihuahua named April, and a mixed-breed dog named Pelongo, ran out of the house when the fire started, but Jenni, a German shepherd, hid inside the house.
Firefighter Brett Markarian entered the home, located Jenni, and carried her out to safety.
The origin of the fire is still under investigation and the damage left behind is so extensive that the Jonas family is staying in a motel. Fire damages are estimated to reach $50,000.
The Jonas family is grateful the city’s Fire Department responded quickly to the emergency. They stopped the fire from spreading to neighboring homes and found Jenni in time, saving her life.
