The dog is OK, but some of the vehicles it lit on fire aren’t.
A Gillette man started burning garbage on a lot just outside town Saturday morning by dipping a leather glove in motor oil and lighting it on fire, according to Campbell County Fire Department battalion chief Brian Borgialli.
When the man set the glove on the ground next to his burn barrel, his dog grabbed the glove in its mouth and took off.
“The owner was trying to catch it,” said Borgialli. “It would run a little ways, drop the glove, start a fire; pick it up and run a little ways, drop it and start a fire.”
A pile of tires and multiple vehicles caught fire.
“There were several places where (the dog) started small fires (the owner) was able to put out,” Borgialli said. “Obviously, the large pile of tires he was unable to put out.”
It took 17 firefighters and three fire chiefs to extinguish the blaze, authorities said.
Fire personnel asked about the dog, Borgialli said, and the owner reported that the dog is fine.
Borgialli suppressed a chuckle. “Twenty-five years and I’ve never had anything like that,” Borgialli said, suppressing a chuckle.
