Chapel Hill, North Carolina - An ordinary afternoon turned into a fiery scare for the Sasser family, and the culprit was none other than their dog Colton!

The playful four-legged friend had nibbled on a battery-powered appliance and almost caused a fatal house fire, as WRAL reports.

Luckily, the family was not at home, but they were nearby and reacted quickly, preventing the fire from spreading.

"[My] heart sank. I had no idea what was going on. I had no clue what it could possibly be and came home to find that the rug had burned up," explained David Sasser, who is a firefighter himself.

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Sasser said his family wasn't home when it happened, but they were nearby and responded in a flash.

"Thankfully, it pretty much fizzled out because of the rug and because we were home so quickly," he said. "[The rug] was the only thing we lost."

Lithium-ion batteries, such as those found in smartphones and toys, have become a growing fire risk in recent years. According to the Chapel Hill Fire Department, the battery shown in the footage was charged and unplugged when finished and wasn't under any recalls – but it wasn't stored away safely.

"What really worries us as firefighters is how the batteries are disposed of at the end of their life," said Robert Zoldos, Chief of the Durham Fire Department in North Carolina.

"If that doesn't happen properly, it can be very dangerous."

The incident also showed David Sasser how quickly things can get dicey at home.

"We learned to be really aware of things in our home and to operate them safely," he assured.