BROOKFIELD CT — John Murray’s dog, Rover McGuinness, didn’t make it out of the blaze that destroyed his home Tuesday.
But if it weren’t for the pit bull, Murray wouldn’t have made it out either.
As it was, he had to jump out a second-story window as the home he rented at 537 Federal Road erupted in flames.
Murray was sleeping in a second-floor bedroom at about 12:45 a.m. when he was startled awake by the dog’s formidable barks coming from the downstairs kitchen.
"He was barking like there was someone in the house,” said Murray, 35. As he got out of bed, he saw that the house was already filled with black smoke. He had to get out, and fast.
"I tried to get down the stairs but it (the heat and smoke) was overpowering.”
An Army veteran who served in Panama, Murray made a quick decision — he jumped out the second-story bedroom window.
Once outside and on the ground, he could see fire engulfing the 74-year-old house.
"It was bad. The house went up so quick,” he said.
Meanwhile, Rover — a dog Murray had found, abused and abandoned, in a Dunkin Donuts parking lot in Danbury nearly two years ago — was still inside.
Trying to save his dog, Murray approached the rear entrance to the house.
"I punched the back window of the door in and tried to open the door but it was scalding hot. I burned my arm. I just couldn’t get in the kitchen because it was blazing fire through the door.”
It took 45 firefighters about 45 minutes to control the blaze, which destroyed the house and all of Murray’s belongings. He even watched fire slowly burn up his SUV, which was parked a few feet behind the house. The car keys were in the house, and there was no way a tow truck could get near it.
Firefighters found the dog’s body in the kitchen.
Murray buried Rover Wednesday wrapped in an Irish flag. The dog was his buddy.
"I raised him Irish-Catholic, just like me,” he said.
Everything Murray owned burned inside the house, which doubled as his place of business. Since the fire, he has been staying with his parents in Danbury.
Murray, a musician, sold vintage guitars and some antiques. About 11 vintage guitars were destroyed, along with about 30 other guitars. Murray is in a local rock band called Shag\Motor. His band mates stored all their equipment in the house. All of it was lost.
Murray estimated he lost about $80,000 worth of musical instruments, none of them insured.
Officials are still investigating what sparked the blaze. Murray said it could have been a chimney or electrical fire.
He is supposed to leave on a trip to Ireland next week with his 13-year-old daughter, who lives in Florida. He’s scrambling to get a replacement passport and plane ticket.
Despite the loss of the dog he loved and all of his possessions, Murray is staying upbeat. It is all he can do.
"My military background and my Irish descent helps,” he said. "You just have to start over and drive on. Thank God I’m not dead. It was close.”
He hopes people will keep an eye out for mistreated animals. "Anyone that can adopt a dog or save a dog from an abusive relationship — please do it. They will help you out in the long run. (If the dog didn’t bark), I would have been dead.”