Grove Firefighter Responds To Own House Fire After Dog Alerts Family Inside

A Grove firefighter lived a first responder's worst nightmare last Saturday night when he had to respond to his own house fire.

Justin Campbell said he was on shift when he got the call to respond to his own address.

His wife Mandy said when her dog woke her up late Saturday night, she knew something wasn't right. That's when she got up and realized her home was filling with smoke.

Most of the Campbell's home is covered in soot, and the room where the fire started is nearly destroyed. Mandy and Justin are just glad everyone is okay.

"Every animal and every human was saved, Delta woke us up," said Mandy.

Mandy was home alone, asleep the night of the fire when her Golden Doodle woke her up. She said her daughter was out of town and her husband was at work.

"Justin is a firefighter, he was on shift the night that it happened, so he got the call,” Mandy said.

“I had to respond to my own address," Justin said.

Frantic and scared, Justin said he couldn't believe what was happening, so he called Mandy immediately.

"He said 'is this for real?' and I'm like ‘yes’ and I just hung up on him because I didn't know what to do," Mandy said. 

As soon as Justin got there, he was able to help his wife while also trying to save his own home.

"It was definitely kind of living off of adrenaline on that so everything's kind of a blur in a sense," Justin said.

Justin has been a firefighter for nearly 10 years and never thought something like this would happen.

"It was one of the worst feelings I've had,” Justin said. “I go to house fires all the time, but when you hear your own address it's a totally different thing.”  

Justin said the cause of the fire was an electrical outlet in the room. He said the door to that room was closed, which helped keep the fire from spreading.

Justin said the home is unlivable so for now, the couple is staying with family just down the street until they get everything figured out.