Seven geese in the Siberian town of Abakan saved the lives of their owners from a fire that broke out in the middle of the night by waking them up in time with loud shrill cries, the local branch of the Emergency Situations Ministry said Monday.
But the geese on the farm in the republic of Khakasia did not survive the blaze.
"People inside the house were awakened by the sounds of the birds screaming and banging themselves against the walls of the barn to find that their property was engulfed by flames," it said in a statement.
"However, the roof of the barn collapsed before the firefighters arrived, and the geese could not be rescued."
Two firefighter trucks arrived in time and the fire, which spread to 12 square meters, was extinguished within 15 minutes, thus preventing the flames from spreading to the house of the family and getting out of control. Emergency workers posted on their website a video of the efforts to put out the blaze.
Firefighters also managed to rescue some of the other livestock.
A preliminary investigation found that the fire was caused by the improper maintenance of electrical equipment.
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