Dillon Harris was enjoying a day off with his family last week, celebrating his son’s 5th birthday. The family of four had just wrapped up a Grinch-themed lunch when, on their way home, Harris’s wife spotted smoke rising from the roof of a house in Madison, Ohio.
Harris — a firefighter for the nearby Euclid Fire Department — stopped the car and got out. A few neighbors were standing in the front yard, and they had already called 911.
“They said no one was home, despite there being a car in the driveway, but there was a dog in there,” Harris said. “We went up to the door and knocked really hard, and we heard the dog barking.”
The fire was growing rapidly.
“It started smoking real bad,” said Harris, a father of two young children.
He and another man who had stopped to help decided to break into the locked house to get the dog. Harris grabbed a shovel and forced entry into the home, which was billowing with smoke. The men were not wearing protective gear.
“It was one of those split-second decisions,” Harris said, explaining that he was concerned about frightening his wife and children, who were anxiously waiting for him in the car. “I wanted to go home with my family, but at the same time I couldn’t leave a dog in the house.”
“My daughter was screaming, ‘Why’d Dad go in?’” Harris said.
Once inside, the dog — a small mixed-breed named Benny — was about 15 feet into the house. He jumped over a gate, and the other man picked him up and brought him outside to safety. Harris — a self-proclaimed animal lover with two dogs of his own — said he was overwhelmed with relief.
“The dog was wagging his tail,” Harris said, adding that he does not know the name of the man who helped him rescue the dog that afternoon, Dec. 8. “I wish we knew his name so we can also credit him.”
Carrie Fedele, the homeowner, said she was at work when she realized her home was ablaze, after receiving alerts from her Ring doorbell camera. She watched frantically as the two men entered her home.
“I panicked,” said Fedele.
“The whole house was literally black smoke when they were running in; it was horrifying … but if they didn’t go in, he would not have survived,” she said, referring to Benny.
Fedele left work and rushed to her house, which she and her husband built 20 years ago. The couple raised all nine of their children in the house, two of whom still lived there with them and Benny, 9. They have 19 grandchildren.
“It’s really sad,” Fedele said between tears. “Everything in the house is gone.”
They lost treasured family heirlooms, including ornaments her children had collected over the years, carefully arranged on the Christmas tree.
“I just can’t believe this happened,” Fedele said.
Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly after Harris went in to retrieve Benny. According to Madison Fire District, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. The story was first reported by Fox8.
Fedele’s co-worker organized a GoFundMe to help the family rebuild after the fire.
“I feel for any family that has this problem,” Harris said.
Fedele said the foundation of the home may still be salvageable, and they hope to use insurance money to rebuild. In the meantime, she and her family have been staying in a hotel and plan to move into an apartment this weekend. Fedele said it has been difficult to accept help, but she said the outpouring of support has given her family some peace during a turbulent time.
“It’s just this huge relief, and I am grateful,” she said. “People care; people have been so kind.”
The Fedele family brought Benny to the vet, where he was treated for smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. The vet did not charge them.
“She paid for the whole thing,” Fedele said. “Everyone has been so sweet.”
Although life has been difficult lately, Fedele said, the aftermath of the fire has reinforced her faith in humanity. She is still in disbelief that two men ran into her fiery home to save Benny.
“It’s scary and it’s hard, but people are amazing,” she said. “Just amazing.”
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