Brave Emmie barks, saves family from Melrose blaze
A Shih Tzu-Yorkie mix named Emmie who was born the runt of her litter showed she had the heart of a hero Sunday when she saved her family from their burning house in Melrose and then survived the brutal blaze by hiding under a couch, the grateful homeowners and firefighters told the Herald.
“Thank God they had the dog because, I’ll tell you, it could have gone a totally different way,” Melrose fire Capt. Kevin Nobile said.
Nobile said Emmie awoke Joseph and Adeline Ciccarello at about 7 a.m. by barking, even before they were aware the smoke detectors were sounding.
“The husband woke up and looked outside and saw the house was on fire,” Nobile said. “We received multiple 911 calls as we were responding to the incident. The radiant heat had melted the vinyl fence around the property. Crews arrived to heavy fire in the rear of the building, which we believe started in the deck area. The guys did a tremendous job. They were very aggressive with their fire attack.”
But bravery took its toll. Emmie, a “Shorkie,” fled Joseph and Adeline Ciccarello’s bedroom in the chaos of the moment and did not make it out initially when they self-evacuated from their 2 ½-story home on First Street. She required overnight hospitalization as a precaution, but is expected to pull through in plenty of time to celebrate her second birthday in May, the family said.
Nobile said veteran firefighter Paul Lepore of Engine 2 found Emmie hiding under a downstairs couch — very much alive.
“She’s a good little watchdog. It’s a miracle because the firefighters did not think the conditions were survivable,” Adeline Ciccarello said. “She just got groomed and shaved so she was hard to grab onto. She was hiding under her favorite spot, the couch, low to the ground. When they brought her out it was like we won the World Series all over again. Everyone erupted in applause.
“There’s definitely a silver lining to all this,” she said. “We’re so grateful. It’s just a house and it can be rebuilt. But everyone got out safe. We just want to thank them (firefighters) for their hard work, for finding our dog and doing the best they could. They’re the greatest of guys.”
Lepore, 54, who has been with the Melrose Fire Department for 14 years and Lynn before that, said this was his first dog rescue on the job.
“The dog is the size of half a loaf of bread,” Lepore said. “We spent probably two hours looking for the dog. As time kept going by we were thinking the worst. It was smoky in there, it was cold, it was wet.”
Not wanting to leave anything to chance, Lepore lifted the couch and found Emmie, silent but shivering. He marveled at how “ecstatic” the Ciccarellos were to see her, recalling the tears in Adeline’s eyes.
“It was a good feeling. Dogs are so important to people these days. They’re like members of the family,” the father of four said. “We were lucky. They just lost everything, but their dog was safe. That’s the best part of the job right there.”