Firefighter Saves Dog From Burning House: 'I'm Eternally Grateful'

FAIRHAVEN, MD — Scrolling through photos of the rubble, Shirley Miller pointed out appliances charred in the flames.

"That's my kitchen. That's my refrigerator. My stove," the 70-year-old said. "That's amazing to look at that and think that used to be my house."

Miller's Fairhaven home burned down earlier this spring, but her beloved dog made it out safely thanks to Anne Arundel County Firefighter Garrett Buranen. Good deeds like rescuing Buster, a black toy poodle, are what make the job so fulfilling for the newly minted firefighter.

"I am eternally grateful to him. There isn't enough words or deeds or anything else to thank him for what he's done. He is truly an angel from heaven. Matter of fact, you're going to make me cry," Miller said with watery eyes and a sniffle.

Buranen will forever have a special bond with the 6-year-old pup, who escaped with only minor burns and made a full recovery. His hero, however, humbly deflected the praise.

"Anyone that took the oath would've done the same exact thing as me," Buranen told Patch in an exclusive interview.

Blaze Resembled 'Big Bonfire'

The fire broke out on the evening of March 4 on Revell Road. Investigators think an electrical issue sparked the blaze. Whipping winds fueled the flames.

Miller had just returned home and was unloading groceries when a frantic neighbor burst into her house, alerting her of the fire.

Miller knew she had to collect her three dogs. Two made it out safely. Buster, however, ran out the doggy door and disappeared. He reentered the house at some point after Miller evacuated.

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department was greeted with heavy smoke in the fully engulfed two-story, single-family home.

Buranen compared the heat of the blaze to "a really big bonfire that you can't get close to."

The dark night and thick smoke made it especially challenging to search the house.

"I couldn't see my feet in front of me or even my hand," Buranen said.

Buranen remembered hearing a radio call saying a dog may be trapped inside.

"There's hundreds of radio transmissions, but this one stuck in my mind," Buranen said.

He recalls hearing a faint noise and seeing a small object up against the wall, beneath the sunroom window. He scooped it up and realized it was Buster. Buranen passed the pooch to a crewmate and continued battling the flames.

"I prayed that Buster got to the homeowner safe," Buranen said.

'I'm Still In Awe'

Once outside, a neighbor escorted Buster to Miller, who was watching the scene unfold from her car, which was still hot to the touch.

"Who would find a black, 5-pound dog?" Miller asked rhetorically.

Buranen said it was a team effort. He was just the one who got to Buster first.

"In order to get this dog saved, the whole entire fire ground operation has to be kind of flowing smoothly," Buranen said. "So not just directly my actions, but the actions of everyone else in that fire ground enabled Buster to be saved."

The rescue was an adrenaline-filled kickstart to Buranen's firefighting career. He graduated from the Fire Academy last summer and currently floats between several stations. The day he saved Buster, he was working at the Harwood-Lothian station.

For Buranen, serving the community is the most rewarding part of the job.

"I've bounced around job to job, and I've just had this calling, this feeling [of] wanting to help others," he said. "No amount of pay can cover the sense of gratification that you get from doing this job."

That feeling hasn't waned over time.

"Every day I come into work, I feel like I'm in the Super Bowl and everyone around here is MVPs. They're the quarterbacks," Buranen said. "I'm still in awe that I even have this job."

The Anne Arundel County Fire Department lauded Buranen and his crew.

"[Firefighter] Buranen acted quickly and saved a four-legged life, a beloved family pet," spokesperson Capt. Jenny Macallair told Patch in an email. "This is what we train for: to protect lives in all forms. We are proud of Firefighter Buranen and all the AACoFD firefighters and medics who responded to the call."

Macallair invited prospective firefighters and medics to apply for its upcoming recruit class by June 24 at aacounty.org/fire. The department hopes to assemble a 70-member recruit class at the beginning of 2026.

Homeowner Chooses Hope Over Despair

A devout Catholic, Miller counts her lucky stars that she still has her "main man" Buster.

"He is Velcroed to me since the fire," she said.

Miller also has the company of her other two toy poodles: Boo, a cream-colored 11-year-old girl, and MeMe, a nearly 1.5-year-old girl with red and black fur.

The house was a total loss, as it burned down to the studs. All of Miller's possessions were destroyed, but she prefers to appreciate what she still has.

"God was so good, gave me so many blessings," Miller said. "I had my car, my three dogs and the clothes on my back."

Miller, a recovering alcoholic, continued her 29 years of sobriety by choosing hope over despair.

"There's nothing to drink over," she said.

A "fellow Christian" let Miller stay in a vacant family house next to his. He installed handicap rails for Miller and put up chicken wire between wide fence gaps to contain her furry friends.

It could take at least eight months to secure permits to rebuild Miller's house. Only then can construction start.

"It's the game of wait now, and I never was real good at waiting," she said jokingly.

In the meantime, Miller continues running her business at Aunt Shirley's Pet Care. She offers grooming and pet-sitting.

Miller still has not found her indoor-outdoor cat, Poppy. She is a long-haired calico with brown, white and black coloring.

Miller's two parakeets, which she got five days before the blaze, died in the fire. There was a girl, Emily, and a boy who wasn't named yet. Miller plans to have pet birds at her new house.

"There is a half-full glass in every situation. That's my whole outlook on life," Miller said.