Good Samaritans Rescue Great Danes From Van Fire In Frankfort

FRANKFORT, IL — A 45th wedding anniversary is commonly associated with sapphires. But, for one couple and their grandchildren, the milestone anniversary will be connected with something just as, if not even more so, enduring than the precious blue gem: the memory of saving the lives of two Great Danes that were trapped in a burning van.

New Lenox residents Sheree and Steve Twiddy and their grandchildren — 10-year-old Abi and 8-year-old Eli Twiddy, who live with their grandparents — had just finished a celebratory dinner around 7 p.m. Saturday at Francesca's Fortunato in Frankfort. As they were walking out to their vehicle, Eli noticed a van parked nearby that had fire dripping from the undercarriage.

Steve quickly went over to the van to check if anyone was inside. The front doors were unlocked, and Steve found that no people were in the front of the van.

"When I opened it up, it was all full of smoke," Steve said.

But Steve wanted to make sure no one was in the back of the van, so he opened that up, too. He found no people there, either, but he did find something else: two aluminum cages.

"Inside the back of the van, inside these two aluminum cages, were two really beautiful — and I couldn't tell at the time because of all the smoke — they were beautiful Great Danes," Steve said.

The family worked together to get the Great Danes out. Steve spotted a Frankfort Community Service Officer's vehicle in the parking lot, and told Abi and Eli to go over and ask for help while Steve and his wife worked to contain the fire and get the dogs into the back of their truck and away from the flames.

"Abi and Eli did a great job going over and getting the policeman," Steve said.

Steve and the Frankfort CSO continued to use their fire extinguishers on the front of the van while the Frankfort Fire Protection District was on the way.

"It seemed like the whole thing took only about five minutes," Steve said. "It all worked out. It was really good. It was shock to see that the dogs were in there. I was just trying to make sure that there were no human beings inside who were impaired or having issues."

Details about the van and dogs' owners are a little murky. The Frankfort Police Department did not say who they were but did say the people and dogs involved were in town for a dog show. The Twiddys were not able to get their names, either.

Sheree posted on Facebook about the experience, and she was told by a friend of the Twiddy family that the Great Danes were at the dog show Sunday, healthy and doing well, and no doubt thankful for the family's courageous actions.

"Everyone did what they had to do," Steve said. "The kids did what they had to do. My wife did what she had to do. I did what I had to do. Everybody just worked together and did it right.

"What is really lucky is that the van happened to be open and it was not locked. The dogs wouldn't have made it another minute. They wouldn't have survived it. So, we're very, very lucky that it all worked out. It was a good feeling that everybody walked away."

And everybody did. Some on two legs, some on four.