PLEASANT RIDGE PLANTATION (AP) — A 73-year-old retired builder in Maine is crediting his Brittany Spaniel with saving his life.

Herbert Hingley says “Babe” woke him up by jumping on him and pawing at his face to get him out of bed. He says he awoke early Wednesday to discover his house was on fire in Pleasant Ridge Plantation.

Fire Chief David Robinson told the Morning Sentinel (http://bit.ly/1FXAov6 ) that Hingley has trouble hearing, and couldn’t hear the smoke detectors going off.

Bingham Fire Chief Scott Lawyerson says firefighters struggled to get enough water to the scene to bring the fire under control as the temperature dipped to minus-20.

The blaze destroyed the house but Hingley survived along with Babe and nine other hunting dogs he keeps in a kennel outside.