CHARLTON TWP. — Thanks to their barking dog, Chloe, a Charlton Township family fled their home before the fire which destroyed their attached garage early Sunday morning spread to their house.

Although the Jerry and Teresa Gertiser residence on Wheeler Road was equipped with smoke detectors, it was one of their four dogs who alerted the family to the fire in their garage about 4:45 a.m. Sunday, reported Charlton Township Fire Chief Ron Koronka. The dog began barking before enough smoke had entered the house to trigger the working smoke detectors, explained Koronka.

When she woke to the sound of Chloe barking, Teresa Gertiser reported she could see an orange glow behind the dog.

“They came downstairs to smoke in the house and found the garage on fire,” said the chief, noting the couple and their teenage daughter, along with the dogs, escaped safely, calling 9-1-1 as they left.

Koronka, who lives about 300 feet from the Gertisers, reported that when he looked out his window “flames were coming out of one corner of the garage. It was just astronomical, (flames) were already through the whole garage.”

Koronka said it appeared a wood stove boiler used for boiling maple syrup in a lean-to on the garage was too close to a wood pile and ignited the wood, with the blaze quickly spreading through the garage.

The Gertisers’ daughter, Emily, was home when the fire broke out. A senior at St. Mary Cathedral High School, she had planned to travel that morning with a youth group for a mission relief trip over spring break. As they vacated the home in the face of the fire, Teresa instructed Emily to grab her already packed suitcase. Emily did go on her trip Sunday.

The couple’s son, Chris, was away at college at the time of the fire.

Teresa Gertiser reported she gathered family photos before fleeing the residence. She fears, however, they may have lost their cats.

The family is staying at a friend’s house and reported they won’t be able to move back into their home for four to six months.

Koronka said he could not estimate the dollar damage to the three-car garage, which housed tractors, lawn mowers, fishing equipment and other personal property. None of the family’s vehicles reportedly were parked inside the garage.

Water and smoke damage were reported throughout the two-story residence, but Koronka said the quick teamwork of fire crews from Charlton Township and Otsego County fire departments knocked the fire back, saving the house. Minimal roof damage occurred on the rear side of the roof.

Koronka reported about 24 firefighters from the two departments responded to the call.

Ice buildup along the narrow, 600-foot, tree-line driveway presented some challenge to firefighters, noted Koronka. Had the wind been blowing out of the north, said the chief, “it would have been a worse scenario,” he said, fanning flame into the residence.

Firefighters cleared the scene by 9 a.m.

Koronka praised the work of all of the firefighters and expressed thanks to OCFD and his own crew for their response.

— Chris Grosser and Jil Schult contributed to this report.

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