Nine-month-old Kahuna was investigating, as puppies do, when he jumped up onto a footstool to explore what qas on an ironing board set up in the corner of thr room.
He then knocked over the ironing board, which happened to fall on a furnace vent. The furnace was on and running hot enough to melt some of the plastic that fell on the grate, and it dropped down into the furnace.
Because the furnace was still running, this plastic then ignited and the flames began to spread to nearby objects.
Rather than freaking out as the flames rose ever higher in the corner, as many dogs would do in response to fire and smoke, Kahuna can be seen chilling okn the couch in a video released by Los Alamos County Fire Department.
Paige, Kahuna's older canine companion, doesn't seem too bothered by the fire either. She does eventually have the sense to leave the room, apparently after Kahuna ran away, however.
When the fire department shared the video of the incident on Facebook, most people were shocked but very glad the dogs were okay.
Tanisha Marie/Facebook
Julie Owensby Tolleson
Thankfully, the blaze was stopped before it spread too far.
This story could easily have had a much sadder ending.
Los Alamos County Fire Department also warned of the dangers of placing objects too close to furnace vents in a press release posted Monday.
Combustible items should not be placed within 3 feet of heating vents, or other heat sources, especially when pets will be alone in the house.
Functioning smoke alarms and an easy and well-planned escape route are also important.
The fire department even posted a photo of the culprit himself, finally looking mildly concerned.
The department added some levity to the end of their press release with the idea that Kahuna is:
"expected to be enrolled in dog training or Youth Firesetting Prevention and Intervention classes soon!"
Kahuna may not understand exactly what he did wrong, but his owners certainly do. The fire could easily have gotten much worse before it was extinguished, and could have caused much more damage.
The importance of proper fire safety precautions cannot be overstated.