Six Dogs Die In Kópavogur Fire

A devastating fire in Kópavogur the day before yesterday killed six dogs, Vísir reports.

Erna Christiansen, a young dog breeder, had taken one of her dogs, Lola, to the vet in the afternoon. Five minutes after leaving she received a panicked phone call from her mother telling her that her house was on fire. “When I got home, the smoke had spread to the upper floor and the whole house was full of black smoke,” said Erna. It is believed that the fire was started by a lamp, although this is still under investigation.

Erna could hear her dogs crying inside and tried to rush back in to save them, but was held back by her mother. “My mother managed to stop me before I went into the burning house to try to save my barking, crying and screaming dogs. I would have gone in but it was just too late and it was good that someone stopped me,” said Erna.

Erna described the traumatic experience of watching the fire and waiting for assistance from the fire department: “After a calculation in my head, based on the amount of smoke, fire, heat and time, I had lost everything. It would be very unlikely that these small bodies would survive this. … And the sounds of my dogs fighting for their lives, the tormented screams of my six-week-old puppies, the crying of my girls. I felt like no one was going to listen to me. Watching the apartment burn for many, many minutes before I was pulled away, while the dogs gradually stopped. I was sure it was over.”

Four dogs, however, did survive the fire. Vigdís, Baileys, Imma and Lizzy were taken to the Animal Hospital and are doing well. However, Echo, Abby, Mona, Oriana, Ohana and Moli all burned inside, and there was also enormous damage to the home.

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