A black Labrador saved a Potomac family early Monday morning when the dog’s barking warned them of a fire that would go on to consume their home and cause more than $1 million in damage.
Lawyer Steven Kelber, his wife and a child visiting from New York were asleep around 1:30 a.m. when Jet, a longtime family pet, alerted them to smoke coming from the garage of their home on the 11000 block of Lake Potomac Drive, according to Montgomery County fire officials.
Jet survived the fire along with the family. But by the time firefighters brought the blaze under control, a Jeep Cherokee, Infinity G35 and Mitsubishi Spyder were destroyed, along with up to $800,000 in structural damage to the home and $400,000 in damage to personal belongings, fire officials said.
“The damage is significant, and the family is displaced,” said Pete Piringer, spokesman for Montgomery County’s Fire and Rescue Service. Piringer added that investigators have found “nothing suspicious” about the fire, but are focusing on areas near where the cars were parked.
Around the Kelbers’ neighborhood, friends are at a loss.
“There just isn’t any explanation we can come up with based on the vehicles,” said Mark Evans, who lives across the street from the Kelbers and took them in when the disaster was discovered. “It’s a mystery.”
Mike Mitchell, longtime mechanic and owner of Mitch and Bill’s Exxon in Potomac, said cars have a slim chance of starting a garage fire, but supplies kept in the garage can be a risk.
“There can be gas cans in the garage; you could’ve just had steaks and pulled a hot grill in the garage,” Mitchell said. “Or you’ve heard of people with bundles of towels with chemicals on them that start on fire.”
Piringer used the disaster as an opportunity to promote the installation of sprinklers in homes, saying, “If this house had had sprinklers, we wouldn’t be chatting today.” Fire sprinkler systems are required of new construction in the county, and a tax credit exists for people who install them in older homes.
Piringer added one more piece of advice: “Get a dog named Jet.”
