Dog Started Fire

Three dogs rescued from townhouse fire.


DAMASCUS, Md. (AP) – Authorities say a man’s dog may have started a fire at his home north of Washington, D.C.

Officials believe one of the man’s three dogs that were rescued Sunday afternoon at a townhouse in Damascus, Maryland could have started the blaze.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer says it’s likely that a dog may have taken a vaping device and played with it to the point where its battery leaked gas or had a chemical reaction enough to cause a flame.

Piringer says although these incidents are accidents, preventative measures like keeping things out of reach from a small child or pet can be taken.

Montgomery County firefighters say the battery is being examined at a lab to determine how exactly it caught fire.

-AP