Pet chicken alerted family to house fire

They say heroes come in all shapes, sizes, and now species. When Brad Krueger raised a chicken on his farm, he never knew it would one day grow up and save his neighbours. "I've heard animals waking people up but not a chicken," he said. It all started on Thursday morning when the fire department says a huge fire broke out at a home in Alma Center, Wisconsin.



The smoke detectors were not working, the people inside were asleep. That is, until the chicken sensed something was wrong. "She said she heard the commotion of the chicken and all that stuff," Krueger added. The people inside the home also told Krueger the cat started making noise. They smelled fire, opened the garage door, and it was full of smoke.

"We were halfway into town and you could look into town and all you could see was an orange glow," said Jeff Gaede, the Fire Chief in Alma Center. He says the home and everything inside is a total loss. But even Gaede is surprised how the family got out. "I guess at first I was really amazed, we've never run into a chicken before," he said. "You always run into a dog or cat or something."


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How the chicken got to living there is an amazing story, too. Krueger says dogs always chased it around his farm, cornering it under the machinery. "They kept it up and finally the chicken wandered over and finally they adopted it," he said. The family took it in as their own, protecting and looking out for it. And now the chicken has returned the favour.