A fire broke out on Tuesday in an Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad apartment on the third floor of Avantika SK Homes killing three adult pet dogs, while the family of four residing there was rescued.Fire department received a call around 3.09am on Tuesday. (Photo by Sakib Ali)According to fire officials the fire incident happened around 3am in third floor where Pawan Sharma (52), resided with his wife (46), two children (20 and 18) and three dogs, including two German Shepherds and a Husky.Fire department received a call around 3.09am on Tuesday and two fire tenders were rushed to SK Homes in Avantika. The building has three floors occupied by different families, officials said.“The fire started in the drawing room of Pawan Sharma’s flat while the family was sleeping in one of the rooms. Soon, the fire engulfed the entire flat, and the family found no way to move out. One of our fire officers was on call with them and continuously counseled them, asking them to come to the balcony and take shelter along the walls. The balcony is about five feet, but the fire was raging. The fire officer ensured that the family did not jump out of the balcony due to panic,” chief fire officer (CFO) Rahul Pal told HT.Officials said fire tenders reached the spot within 10 minutes and rescued the family using ladders. The fire was brought under control within an hour with the help of two fire tenders.Also Read:Several flats on fire at Ghaziabad’s Gaur Green Avenue high-rise; firefighting underway“After rescuing them, the firemen broke the gates of the flat and doused the fire within an hour. All household items were damaged, and three pet dogs were also found dead. They probably died due to suffocation and smoke, and could not find a way out. Their bodies were taken out and handed over to the family. The cause of the fire was probably a short circuit. No loss of human lives or injuries were reported,” the CFO added.An HT team visited the spot in the morning, but the Sharma’s had already moved to the house of their relatives.“They went away to their relatives as nothing was left in their flat...The family loved their pets too much, and these pets were friendly to everyone in the building. Two were German Shepherds and one a Husky. Their bodies were taken out and buried by the family. They were very pained to see them dead,” neighbour Pushpendra Singh told HT.