91yo's 'best mate' saved from house fire by quick-thinking police officer

Police officer says rescuing dog from burning South Burnett home all in a day's work Tue 16 Jun 2026 at 3:12pm A Queensland police officer says saving a "snarky" Chihuahua from a house fire that claimed the home and belongings of the 91-year-old owner was all in a day's work. Constable Kieren Trannore climbed over a railing onto the verandah of the Blackbutt North home in the South Burnett, 170 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, and retrieved the dog while the building was still alight. Body-worn camera footage showed the officer rescuing Candice the Chihuahua, which he said got a "bit snarky" and kept running back towards the fire. "I couldn't do anything to win it over, so eventually just grabbed the jumper and picked it up and put it over the railing and into the owner's arms, which was nice," Constable Trannore said. Constable Trannore said after the initial shock, the 91-year-old owner was very grateful to still have his "best mate". "I think it's all he had. He seemed to love her a lot," he said. "Obviously it's upsetting — an elderly male, he's lost his home, everything he had, but on the plus side there was no-one hurt." He said after their initial interactions, Candice warmed up to the officer. "I think she's on the older side, but she has plenty of attitude,"he said. "Afterwards, she was coming up to me and sniffing my legs, and she was fine with me after that." He said it was one of the better parts of the job. "A lot more of that community-style policing that you don't get in other places, you still get those rewarding feelings when you actually help people," he said. The Queensland Police has commended the officer for his actions. No serious injuries were reported. Authorities say the June 2 fire is not being treated as suspicious.