ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP - Any life is worth saving as far as firefighters with the Elizabeth Township Volunteer Fire Department are concerned.

Sometimes even the people that volunteer every day find a way to go above and beyond the call of duty.

The Elizabeth Township Fire Department responded to a trailer fire Jan. 4 at the home of Barbara Imes at 37 Private Road 160 off of Township Road 295 (Sunflower Road). No one was home at the time, so the firefighters went inside and put the fire out, said Fire Chief Dale Waugh.

It appeared to be an ordinary call until Imes returned and told them that her three dogs were still inside. Without a hesitation, Cpt. Ralph Joseph and Firefighter Ben Mullins went back in to try to save the three dogs, Waugh said.

"They are good firefighters. They are really good," Waugh said. "It doesn't surprise me a bit that they would do something like that."

Thanks to their efforts the two terriers are at the vet's office now recovering from their wounds. One of the animals suffered burns on its back. The other had burns on its ears, chest and feet. Unfortunately, an elderly poodle did not make it out of the blaze alive.

For Joseph, it was all in a day's work and he does not consider himself a hero. Still, it was important to do all they could to save the animals.

"One life is just as good as another, whether it is an animal or a human being," Joseph said.

Waugh said this is not the first time that members of his department have risked their lives to save the lives of a family pet.

The Lawrence County Humane Society plans to pay the veterinarian bills.

"I don't think (volunteer firefighters) get the recognition they deserve," Alberta Wise, treasurer with the Lawrence County Humane Society said of the firefighters.

"That is what their job is, to save whatever life they can," Wise said. "But they risked their own lives."

Wise said that Mrs. Imes plans to keep the dogs and provide them with a new home.