VIDEO — ‘Give This Dog an Award!’: Family’s Beloved Canine Alerts Them to Garage ‘Engulfed in Flames’

A family in Orange County, California, is safe thanks to the persistent and courageous actions of their dog.

The incident happened Wednesday when the family was trying to sleep around 4:30 a.m. as their dog, Fillmore, kept barking, the Orange County Fire Authority said.

Fillmore would not quit making noise, so the family looked out their back window and noticed something was not right. They initially thought the flickering light they saw was a neighbor’s home on fire, but soon realized it was their own garage.

“The family grabbed garden hoses and did what they could to slow the fire’s spread until firefighters arrived and quickly contained the flames to the garage — saving the house. OCFA Heavy Fire Equipment Operators then removed the vehicles from the garage so firefighters could safely extinguish the remaining hotspots. Before leaving, firefighters gave Fillmore some well-deserved attention!” the agency said, adding, “Give this dog an award!”

Dogs can sense fire and that is why they have often been known to alert their owners to that particular danger, according to WagWalking.com.

“Some dogs are so acutely aware of fire that they have become man’s best crime scene fire detectors and can learn how to detect signs of arson. Your domestic dog can sense that a fire is threatening his home. Stories of dogs rescuing families from fires prove their ability to sense fire,” the site read.

Fillmore’s actions did save his family because a home can be completely engulfed in flames in just five short minutes, per Ready.gov.

Fillmore is a German Shorthaired Pointer (GSP), according to CBS LA, a breed that is described as being friendly, smart, and willing to please, by the American Kennel Club (AKC). Therefore, it is easy to see why he rescued his family from danger because the instinct to act is strong.

“German hunters spent generations crossing various breeds until they perfected this versatile bird dog sometime in the 1800s. They were so successful that, to this day, GSPs are among the top-winning breeds in competitive hunting events,” the site read, noting a breed historian described the dogs as being “a staunchly pointing bird dog; a keen-nosed night trailer; a proven duck dog; a natural retriever on land or water, with pleasing conformation and markings, and great powers of endurance; and an intelligent family watchdog and companion.”