Dog Saves Owner from 'Terrifying' N.Y. Apartment Fire: 'He's a Hero, But Now They're Left with Nothing'

Residents at New Legacy Apartments "never" heard Angela Murray's dog make noise. Then, one night, he wouldn't stop barking.

Just before 10 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24, Murray was in bed in her top floor unit in the Baldwinsville, New York apartment building when the pup, a pit bull mix named Rocco, got loud, she recalled to Syracuse.com. He was "barking worse than usual," she told the outlet. "Then I could faintly hear the alarm going off."

Murray, a retired law enforcement officer, said she considered ignoring the noise and going to sleep — but something pulled her out of bed.

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She "went to the living room where he kept barking" and began hearing yet another noise, which she described to Syracuse.com as a "pop pop pop" in the ceiling. At that moment, Murray realized something was seriously wrong, thinking, "Oh no, this is real."

She told the outlet that she grabbed Rocco and her shoes and headed for a backdoor exit. As they hurried to leave, she could see "stuff flying" and "debris," she added.

A fire had broken out in the building, and it wasn't until Murray got outside and joined neighbors across the street that she realized just how close of a call their escape had been: the stairs she and Rocco used moments before had gone up in flames when she crossed the street.

If she "had stopped" to find her glasses "or look for my wallet... nope," the retired officer told Syracuse.com. "I wouldn't have made it out."

According to local outlet WSYR, the fire grew into a large blaze before firefighters arrived. By the time the TV station reached the scene, the fire had engulfed almost the entire apartment building, and the roof had collapsed.

Because of the cold conditions, the fire required the help of an extra 60 fire volunteers, fire officials told WSYR. After the blaze was extinguished — about nine hours later — 24 apartment units were damaged or destroyed, and one person was taken to the hospital, according to Syracuse.com.

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Murray and Rocco went to a nearby community college arena, where the American Red Cross set up a shelter for apartment building residents affected by the fire, per Syracuse.com.

Safe from the fire, the pit bull mix is enjoying his new status as a "hero dog," which one resident affectionately dubbed him, Syracuse.com reported. "He deserves an award or something!" they said of the pup.

According to Murray, others at New Legacy Apartments share this sentiment. "A couple of tenants are calling him the 'hero dog,'" she told Syracuse.com. "They said they never hear him bark but he was barking out of control, that something was wrong."

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A Baldwinsville resident created a GoFundMe fundraiser for Murray, her son, and her "hero" pup to help with the financial assistance required for the trio to "rebuild their lives" after the fire in which they "lost everything."

"Their apartment was on the top floor, near where the roof partially collapsed," the fundraiser, which has raised over $1,600 as of Jan. 28, reads. "It's hard to imagine how terrifying it must have been, but Rocco, their dog, alerted Angela and other residents in time for them to escape."

"He's a hero, but now they're left with nothing."

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