DEXTER — A dog’s frantic barking saved the lives of eight residents of a burning house early Friday on County Route 59, but the canine was unable to save itself.

The two-story home of Jamie S. Woodard, 32, at 16555 Route 59, the mother of five, was destroyed in a blaze that was reported at 3:14 a.m. Investigators said the dog that awakened household members ran upstairs and died there. Escaping without injury were Mrs. Woodard; her children, Ashley, 17, Gerald, 16, Dunkin, 13, Marcus, 12, and John, 8; her brother, Shawn F. Perry, 35, and Jessie D. Weeks, 30.

A volunteer with the American Red Cross assisted the family in obtaining temporary housing.

They lost all their belongings in the uninsured structure, including a 2000 Chrysler sedan in the garage, where the blaze originated.

Jefferson County fire investigator Roger E. Brunet said the cause will never be known. The car, from which the battery had been removed, is not believed to be the source, he said.

A breezeway connected the house and garage. When flames reached the house, they spread rapidly due to the “balloon construction” of the old farmhouse, previously owned by Mrs. Woodard’s parents-in-law, the late Donald and Marjory Woodard. With balloon construction, there are no partitions to cut off wall cavities and prevent the spread of flames.

Dexter, Chaumont, Glen Park and Brownville firefighters responded to the call.

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