A house in Missouri caught fire after a dog managed to turn on the kitchen stove and start a blaze.
A security camera inside the house snapped the family dog in the kitchen standing on its hind legs over the stove and managing to turn it on.
The stove could be operated with touch controls and apparently the paw of a curious canine companion works just as well as human hands when it comes to turning up the heat.
Paws on the worktop switched on the stove and the heat eventually ignited grease in a pan left over from last night's meal which triggered the blaze.
The blaze began on the morning of Friday (10 June) in a house in Parkville, near Kansas City, Missouri.
Advert
Fortunately, firefighters were able to rescue two dogs from inside the house and nobody was hurt, though the same couldn't be said for the house which sustained some damage.
Southern Platte Fire Protection district chief Chris Denney told Fox News the newer stoves carried a risk of pets being able to ignite them.
He said: "New appliances are being seen with touch controls that activate by the simple touch of a finger.
Advert
"An animal’s paw can also activate these types of controls. Please use built in safety’s if available on appliances when not in use and accessible by children and/or animals."
See, in theory newer kitchen worktops can be operated at just a touch, eliminating the need for all those pesky knobs and buttons.
In practice it leaves the door open for a dog to unwittingly place its paws on something important and get a fire going.
Lots of the newer ones have safety features which mean they can't be switched on until the safety is disengaged, eliminating the risk of pets, children or careless adults from igniting the stove.
Luckily for the homeowners, despite the damage done by their curious dog, officials believe their house can be properly repaired.
Advert
In the end things could have been much worse than a fire and some damage, and hopefully the accidental blaze will help others avoid the same risks.
It might also help teach the inquisitive dog to stay away from the kitchen worktops in future.
They say you can't teach an old dog new tricks but turning on a kitchen stove is probably one thing it's better dogs can't do.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
Topics: Dogs
Joe Harker