Dog Alerts Owner to Smoky Explosion

A seven-year-old shelter dog named Chance proved faster than a smoke detector when smoke filled his home at 30 Hilltop St. this morning.

His endless barking woke his owner, Alison Keen, who then fled the smoky home with her beloved pet.

They were already outside when the smoke detectors sounded.

"I would have just kept sleeping,'' she said. "I'm a sound sleeper.''

The incident happened about 7 a.m. and was confined to the basement, Fire Chief Michael Gauthier said.

White smoke was billowing from the eaves when the arrived, the chief said. 

A small explosion near the boiler caused cellar windows to break, he said. The exact cause is still under investigation.

Neighbor Ivan Howard was making his morning coffee when he heard an explosion. 

"It scared the hell out of me,'' he said. 

Still clad in his pajamas, he immediately ran out and checked on his neighbor.

"There was smoke coming out of everything,'' he said. "I thought the house was going to blow. I got out my [garden] hose.'' 

Another neighbor, Eileen Smith, went over to comfort Keen.

An ATF investigator was called in. Gauthier estimated the damage at about $25,000. 

The house is not inhabitable, Gauthier said, because the electricity had to be cut and there is no water to the home.

Sitting on her lawn watching the investigators, Keen, a student at , said she was grateful she and Chance were OK. 

"The rest is just stuff,'' she said.

Meanwhile, the hero of the day appeared oblivious to the activity around him. He was too busy chasing his ball and settling into a puddle newly created by the fire hoses.