Man wouldn’t leave dog’s side in fire. Dog lives. Owner dies.
A Cicero man is dead after his home caught fire this morning. After years of constantly caring for his cherished dog, he refused to leave his home without his companion.
“He really loved that dog to death,” said victim’s friend Ed Daigle.
Ed Daigle is talking about his friend of more than 30 years, John Petrik. Petrik and his 13-year-old dog Reggie lived in Cicero. Petrik’s house caught fire early Wednesday morning. The 68-year-old man refused to leave his burning home without Reggie.
“He was his like his companion. Like, he didn’t have no one around. Reggie was like his child,” Daigle said.
Police had to physically take Petrik out of his home. He kept screaming that Reggie was inside. Firefighters went in and rescued the shepherd mix wrapping him in a towel to keep him warm.
Meantime, Petrik suffered some type of medical problem in the back of a squad car. He was taken from the scene by ambulance. He was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later. Daigle says Petrik’s home heating system wasn’t working properly. It’s believed a space heater started the fire.
“It was a heater explosion. It was filled with kerosene and I tried to warn him to not use that stuff all the time,” Daigle said.
Tonight Reggie is at A American Veterinary Hospital in Oak Park. The dog is in intensive care after suffering burns and smoke inhalation.
