Two pit bulls credited for helping mother, baby escape fire in Jackson home

[PitBullHappenings]

Two pit bulls credited for helping mother, baby escape fire in Jackson home
Published: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 10:50 PM Updated: Wednesday, December 29, 2010, 7:50 AM
By Aaron Aupperlee | Jackson Citizen Patriot

A mother and her 9-month-old baby escaped a fire in their Jackson home Tuesday night in part because of their two pit bulls.

Laura Gingras was giving her daughter, Raigan, a bath in the upstairs of their N. Thompson Street house when Tia and Trixie, the family’s two pit bulls, came running up the stairs barking. Chad Gingras, Laura’s husband and Raigan’s father, said the dogs do not normally do that.

“She went to look and saw smoke,” Chad Gingras said. “So she grabbed the baby, ran out the house and called 911.”

Firefighters were called to the 100 block of N. Thompson Street about 8:20 p.m. When they arrived, Laura Gingras and Raigan were already out of the house, said Jackson fire Capt. Jason Senft.

Crews put the fire out within about 15 minutes.

Senft said the fire appears accidental, but it is still under investigation. The fire looks to have started around the stove, he said.

Chad Gingras, who was working at the Taco Bell at Ganson Street and West Avenue when the fire started, said his wife had just visited him at the restaurant. He said she came home, took Raigan out of her baby carrier and set the carrier on the stove. He suspects she accidentally turned on a burner.

Raigan and her mother were not hurt, he said. Tia, who is 5 years old, was taken to a veterinarian after being pulled from the house. Chad Gingras said she was barely breathing. Once at the vet, Tia perked right up and was fine, Chad Gingras said. Trixie, 3, was not hurt. She was hiding under an end table in the living room, Chad Gingras said.

“Thank God we had those dogs,” he said.

The house has a lot of smoke damage. The family plans to stay with Chad Gingras' mother.

The Blackman-Leoni Township Public Safety Department and the Summit Township Fire Department assisted the Jackson Fire Department. They cleared the scene before 10 p.m.

http://www.mlive.com/news/jackson/index....n_fir.html