A life, however small, is saved Rescue: Neighbors thought a tenant might still be in a burning rowhouse. Firefighters found one: gray, with four feet and a pug nose, overcome by smoke.

Her real name is Buttons, but this pet Shih Tzu now might be called Lucky.

Baltimore firefighters rescued the frightened gray dog from the basement of a burned-out rowhouse yesterday and revived her on the front lawn as neighbors applauded.

"We just put some oxygen on her, rubbed her down a little and showed her some affection," said Fire Lt. Vincent Green, who with Firefighter Whitt Nottingham gave Buttons medical attention.

The dog, limp and nearly unconscious when carried out of the fire-ravaged rowhouse in Rosemont, bounded back after breathing oxygen from a small tank and getting doused with water from a fire hose.

"The cool water brought her right back," Green said.

Sandra Anderson, a friend of the owner, wrapped Buttons in a white blanket to take her to the veterinarian.

"Call him Lucky," a city police officer said as he walked by. "Or Blessed."

The rescue relieved Buttons' owner, Joseph Louis Tearson, who was at work in a warehouse at Sparrows Point when the fire destroyed the home he has lived in for 35 years and co-owns with his brother.

"That's my doll," Tearson said of the dog, whom he picked from a litter seven years ago when she was 8 weeks old. "She's like one of the family."

Two other dogs who lived next door to Tearson's brick rowhouse in the 2700 block of Ellicott Driveway were overcome by thick smoke, but they recovered without the need of first aid.

"They were anxious to get outside, to say the least," said Battalion Chief William Goodwin, adding that Buttons was "getting up to her neck in a lot of water" when firefighters stumbled upon her after extinguishing the blaze.

Fire investigators had not found a cause yesterday, but Tearson said he believes the blaze was sparked by faulty wiring in the kitchen.

Two firefighters suffered minor burns from steam generated from water heated by the intense flames.

Goodwin said the first floor of the two-story house was filled with flames when his crews pulled up about 11: 45 a.m.

The fire quickly spread to the second floor and porch roof.

By the time the blaze was extinguished 20 minutes later, the interior had been destroyed.

"Everything is gone," said Tearson, 39, lamenting the 200 albums of a jazz and blues collection that were lost, including hard-to-find Miles Davis recordings.

Firefighters found the dog as they searched for a missing tenant, after neighbors had seen one of his cars parked in the neighborhood and thought he still might be inside. He wasn't, but the neighbors' concern may have saved Buttons.

"She was trying to hide from the smoke and the heat," Green said. "She wasn't moving. She was not responsive."

Rescuers carried Buttons to the front yard and placed her on the lawn. The only sign of life was an occasional twitch.

Green and Nottingham rushed over, fitted a child-size oxygen mask on the dog's muzzle for several minutes.

Buttons sprang to life and leaped from their arms.

"We saved something today," Green said.

Added an appreciative Tearson: "I almost kissed them."

Pub Date: 7/16/97