An Uber driver unexpectedly halted a passenger’s trip to dash into a burning residence where a frantic woman was frantically seeking her dog.
Amidst the chaos, as flames engulfed the upper level of the Cloverdale house shortly after 9 a.m. today, fear loomed due to the absence of the beloved pet.
In a video capturing the intense scene on Middleton Street, a voice cries out in anguish, “The dog is in there.”
Inderjit Singh, the Uber driver, was transporting a passenger when he noticed the billowing smoke.
“I asked my passenger if I could go inside to see what was happening,” Singh recounted. “She agreed it was fine.”
“Upon entering, I was met with a massive blaze,” he continued.
The passenger called triple zero as Singh ran inside.
A woman was screaming in the darkness, looking for her dog.
“I don’t know if the dog is inside. I think someone is inside too,” Singh said.
Fire crews working nearby were on the scene in minutes, “even before a triple zero call had been made”, WA Fire managing director Gareth Deeg said.
The 54-year-old resident was treated at the scene by paramedics for smoke inhalation.
The dog, named Prada, was found hiding in a downstairs room.
The owner, too distraught to speak on camera, said her home of seven years was uninsured and she didn’t know where she would sleep tonight.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
