Heroic dog dies while saving sleeping family from house fire in NE Houston

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A family is mourning the loss of their beloved dog, who also happens to be their hero, following a house fire in northeast Houston.

The fire happened overnight around 12:39 a.m. at the 6800 block of Peyton Street.

Crews told Eyewitness News an elderly man, woman, their son, and their three dogs were inside the home sleeping when the fire broke out. The family was able to escape the flames after their dog warned them, but the dogs did not make it out.

"When she (mom) called me, I tried to go into the kitchen and throw a blanket but the flames were so strong," the couple's son, Willie Blackman, said. "The dogs must've all ran in the back, but nothing I could do."

Blackman said he tried to go back in the home, crawling to save the dogs, but debris kept falling on him.

Authorities are still working to find the cause of the fire, but Blackman says it started in the kitchen.

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