A roofed dog pen at the corner of Church Street and Highway 301 in the county seat was on fire when Daniel Durham, owner of D&D Garage, arrived at the scene.

“I was on a ladder painting the front of the building,” Durham said this afternoon, about an hour after he hopped on his motorcycle to check on the source of the smoke. “There are a lot of elderly people in Halifax. I try to keep an eye on the people that keep an eye on me.”

When he arrived at what he initially believed was an abandoned house, he saw the pen, which had an asphalt roof, was ablaze, presumably from a heat lamp inside to keep the dogs warm.

He was able to get the dogs to safety and return them to the owner, who was home, but didn't initially realize the pen had caught fire.

For Durham, it was just the civic-minded thing to do. “Halifax is a small town and a majority of my customers are here. It was the right thing to do.”

Halifax Volunteer Fire Chief Ed Johnson said the pen was engulfed when firefighters arrived but was controlled by the homeowner, who Durham alerted, and Durham himself who doused water on the pen.

The preliminary cause of the fire, which occurred shortly after 2:30 p.m., is believed to be an electrical short, Johnson said.

Johnson said despite losing the pen, the outcome was good as the dogs were saved. “The neighbor came to the rescue and helped keep the fire under control.”