KOKOMO, Ind. (AP) — A pit bull named Kadense saved a 70-year-old man from an apartment fire when she started barking, howling and jumping to alert people to the blaze.

Jason McKoon said he saw the dog “flipping out” early Tuesday morning near a door and he knew something wasn’t right. The 19-year-old walked outside to find the whole side of a nearby apartment and shed on fire.

“My buddy called 911, and I went and pounded on my uncle’s door,” McKoon said.

He then managed to lead his uncle, Bruce Price, safely down the apartment stairs.

Pat O’Neill, Kokomo’s fire and arson investigator, said Wednesday he believes that Tuesday’s fire and one set last month in a vacant home were related and intentionally set.

No one was injured in either fire. But Jason’s mother, Carroll McKoon, said Price’s apartment was destroyed.

“One of the firefighters I talked to said if it wasn’t for that dog, my uncle wouldn’t have made it,” Carroll McKoon said. “She dearly loves Uncle Bruce. He brings her treats all the time.”

She called Kadense a sweetheart and noted that pit bulls could use some good publicity.

“She loves everybody,” McKoon said. “They say a lot of bad things about pit bulls, here’s one that did so good.”