One of the scariest things that can happen in a pet shelter is a fire. Fortunately, this week's heroes are the firefighters of Dover, NH and k9 Kaos, a nearby dog boarding business, who both stepped in to rescue dogs from a shelter fire and temporarily house them!
(Photo: Dover firefighters Sierra Rodenhuis, left, and Trevor Smith comfort Flower, one of the rescue dogs at Pope Memorial Humane Society - Cocheco Valley, after responding to a fire at the shelter on May 5, 2026)
Fire stopped fast at Pope Memorial animal shelter in Dover, NH
Karen Dandurant, Foster's Daily Democrat, May 6, 2026, 1:07 p.m. ET
DOVER — Firefighters quickly responded to a fire at at Pope Memorial Humane Society - Cocheco Valley on the night of May 5, taking mere minutes to prevent it from spreading with no injuries to animal or humans, officials said.
Dover Fire Chief Brendan Driscoll said the cause of the May 5 fire has not yet been determined, but it appears to have started in a laundry cart at the rear of the building, in the area where the dogs are housed. He said it was knocked down quickly.
Driscoll said the department received a general fire alarm for the 221 County Farm Road shelter at 8:20 p.m.
"As crews made entry they noted a large amount smoke, so we sent the rest of the crew," Driscoll said. "A small fire was located in the rear of the building, in a laundry cart. We pushed it outside and continued to work. The laundry cart is the only thing that burnt, so damage is minimal. They will have some smoke and odor mitigation to do."
Driscoll said all the animals are safe. This includes Flower, one of two pups that remained up for adoption from among 26 dogs rescued by the shelter working in tandem with Mary's Dogs Rescue & Adoption of Northwood.
"Once the cart was removed and extinguished, we ventilated to remove smoke," Driscoll said. "(Pope Memorial) crews and volunteers were on site. We cleared the scene at 8:28 p.m., after making sure there was no more smoke and/or toxic gases."
The chief added, "I want to stress the importance of a properly functioning smoke alarms and fire alarm systems. The system worked as it should and alerted the department before the fire was able to grow in size. Crews were able to quickly handle the issue without loss to the animals or structure itself."
Driscoll said mutual aid came from Newington, Somersworth, Rochester and Stewart's Ambulance.
Pope Memorial staff responds, too, with assist from K9 Kaos "We had a very long night," said Molly Shanahan, development and marketing director for Pope Memorial. "All the dogs were safely removed. Some were taken to foster homes and many were taken to K9 Kaos, located down the street from the shelter."
Shanahan said Pope Memorial's team jumped into immediate action when they received word of the fire.
"A few of our management team gets notified when the alarm goes off," Shanahan said. "Caryn Fugatt, our executive director, lives on County Farm Road so she and her fiancé got there really fast. The fire department shut down the road but were letting us in. Our police and fire personnel were fantastic, so helpful, so quick."
Shanahan said K9 Kaos staff showed up, offering to take as many dogs as needed. K9 Kaos is a boarding, day care, grooming and training center located at 432 Sixth St. in Dover.
"It blew my mind how quickly they came to help," Shanahan said. "All the dogs are happily having sleepovers with friends right now until we can clean out the area and make sure it's safe for their return."
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