Brockton Firefighters Save Man From Dog Attack

BROCKTON, MA — Firefighters likely saved a man's life after he was attacked by his frightened dog, that was taken out of his burning home, fire officials said. The fire started at a ranch on Rhonda Road around 7 p.m., Tuesday. When firefighters arrived, they found a kitchen fire, which was extinguished in about 20 minutes.

Fire officials said they found a Neapolitan Mastiff dog inside while fighting the fire. One of the residents got the dog out, but it quickly became nervous and started acting aggressively. The dog attacked the man, biting at his neck until firefighters on the Rapid Intervention Team, assigned to stay outside the fire, pulled the dog off him. He said the dog isolated itself after and a family member was able to put it inside a crate.

"Most animals we aren't sure how they're gonna react, they can get nervous and scared and behave different than normal," Marchetti told Patch.

Brockton Deputy Chief Jeff Marchetti said the man was taken to the hospital, and that his life may have been saved by the intervention team outside the fire. He said the firefighters on the intervention team are "fully geared at working fires," but are assigned outside the scene in case a firefighter is hurt or another emergency happens.

"They happened to be there when the dog attacked and immediately jumped into action without hesitation," Marchetti said. Emergency officials said the dog's attack likely happened because it was scared during the fire and were told this isn't the dog's normal behavior.

The house sustained about $50,000 of damage. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.