Dog saves family from fire that cat started

LAKE WORTH, Fla. (NBC) --  A Florida family's Golden Retriever is being called a canine hero, while the family's cat should probably be sent to the "dog house."

Bubba, the retriever, started barking when flames erupted inside the Lake Worth duplex just before midnight.

It started in the front portion of the home, where Saundra Frazer had fallen asleep.

Charles McCauley, who lives in the back of the home with his girlfriend, also heard the barking and came running into the front room where he saw Saundra trying to extinguish the flames with a blanket.

"When I walked out I smelled smoke, so I run to the other door and when I run to the other door the whole wall and her room was engulfed and she was trying to fight it," McCauley said.

McCauley said the fire kept growing so his next instinct was to get everybody out.

They escaped safely.

Bubba's loud barks are being credited with waking everyone up and getting them out of the burning house.

They believe if not for him they would have died in the fire.

The occupants believe the fire may have started when the family cat knocked over a burning candle.

The house was heavily damaged.

The American Red Cross is helping the three residents with temporary housing and food.