Firefighters revive dog, 2 pets perish in Merced County house fire

Firefighters revived one pet while two others perished after a house caught fire in Merced.

The Merced County Fire Department received multiple reports of a structure fire soon after 4 p.m. Thursday at a house in the 2100 block of Fern Street, Battalion Chief Mark Pimentel said.

Firefighters saw heavy black smoke coming from the back of the home as they arrived, Pimentel said. As they went to the back of the home, they found a fully involved fire in the dining room and living room area that extended into the attic.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Thursday, Pimentel said.

None of the three occupants of the home were inside at the time of the fire, Pimentel said. The Red Cross was called to provide assistance to them. But firefighters found three dogs in the home.

The three dogs were brought to the front yard. Two of them had died, but several firefighters attempted to revive the last one with oxygen. After about a half hour, the dog was barking and breathing.

"I think (the dog is) going to be OK," Pimentel said.

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Firefighters revive dog, 2 pets perish in Merced County house fire."