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TUSCARAWAS COUNTY, Ohio )WJW) – A sixth-grader saved the day and his little brother after the family dog accidentally started a fire inside of their house.

Twelve-year-old Ares Stull was home with his brother Greyston when their young rambunctious Rottweiler Luna ignited a pizza box.

Greyston, who was downstairs on his iPad, noticed the flames first and ran to get his older brother upstairs.

“I thought he was kidding at first, then I go downstairs and I see all the smoke and I think to myself, ‘Why is there so much smoke?’ and I see the pizza box on fire,” said Ares.

“I was mostly scared,” said 9-year-old Greyston.

Ares grabbed his little brother, ran outside, closed the door and dialed 911.

Dennison firefighters quickly responded and were able to contain the fire before it spread beyond a small portion of the kitchen.

“It could’ve been a lot worse had the young man not done what he did and could’ve ended very badly,” said Fire Chief Dave McConnell. 

Turns out Ares had learned all about fire safety from Dennison firefighters at school.

“We do fire prevention every year and he obviously had been paying attention. He did it textbook just like we taught him,” said Chief McConnell.

Firefighters were so impressed they notified the mayor who signed a proclamation declaring Oct. 20 Ares Stull Day in Dennison.

The fire department also made him an honorary firefighter, gave him a special DFD T-shirt and got a big pizza for both boys, which they kept far away from Luna.

As for how the dog started the fire, the chief said it was fluke. Her paw hit the stove top at just the right angle.

“Basically the dog smelled the pizza on the stove and jumped up and it was a gas stove and ignited the burner and set the pizza box on fire,” he said.

“Crazy thing is she doesn’t even like human food,” said the boy’s mother Whitney Cox, who is still shocked by the ordeal but also very proud of her sons. “I cried, it’s overwhelming. It’s one thing when you’re proud of your kid, but when the whole community, the fire dept. does what they did, it’s overwhelming. Just can’t be anymore proud of both of them, honestly.”