Prince George's County and Charles County Firefighters managed to reunite a dog with its owners Saturday after a fire broke out in the basement of a home in Accokeek.
The fire broke out just after 8:00 a.m. in the 14800 block of Berry Road. Authorities say the two human occupants of the home managed to escape before the firefighters arrived, but the dog could not initially be found.
After the fire was extinguished, a Charles County firefighter discovered the dog, a Shiatsu named Coco, in the kitchen of the one-story, single-family house. Coco is blind, and was not able to find his way outside. After an EMS crew administered oxygen, Coco was brought to his owners.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but fire officials say that the home did not have any working smoke alarms. The preliminary fire loss is estimated to be $100,000. The family, Coco included, was displaced and will require assistance from the Prince George's County Citizens Services Unit.
Coco receives oxygen from a Charles County Firefighter. Photo courtesy Steve Sterns, Prince George's County Citizens Services Unit.
Photo Credit: Ken McSwain/Prince George's Co. Fire/EMS