“I got a call from the control center about five after ten (on Thursday) about someone that lost their dog in an abandoned building over there,” New Bethlehem Fire Chief told exploreClarion.com. “Then, I called the guys to get some equipment arranged went over. We were going to bring more equipment because where he fell through was anywhere from one foot to three or four feet deep of water.”
Fox explained they ultimately brought a ladder and put it down the hole. One of the New Bethlehem firefighters came down, and the dog went to him, allowing itself to be taken back to the surface.
“It was a touchy situation. We were going to work a little bit more safely, but when the dog came over, he got in the deep water, and we were able to grab it and send it up the ladder.”
The dog, whose name is Puppers and belongs to Brandi Kline, of South Bethlehem, was not injured.
Fox said the fire company does animal rescues “off and on,” including some strange ones, particularly rescuing a cow in a swimming pool.
“We’ve done some animal rescues through the years. This one, the dog was there, was scared and wanted help,” he explained.
The abandoned building Puppers was stuck in is located next to the South Bethlehem Borough building on Grant Street.
Fox stated the building has been abandoned for many years but was previously the New Bethlehem power station in the 1920s and then a water softening plant. Since then, the building has fallen into disrepair, and the current owner of the property stores cars outside of it and does not venture inside.
Puppers got in because someone had kicked in the door, Fox said.
“We put the screws back in the door and sealed it, but if someone wants in, they can just kick the door in again,” he stated.
Though the situation ended well, it could have been worse.
“Just luckily it wasn’t a child,” said Fox. “That’s what a lot of people said. It’s an old, rotten, wooden floor. You drop down, you drop down a good way, probably ten feet.”
