UPDATED Thursday, December 27, 2012 --- 11:03 a.m.

ALMA CENTER, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin couple says fire clucks, not fire trucks, helped them escape a blaze at their home.

Alma Center Fire Chief Jeff Gaede says the couple was sleeping when their pet chicken woke them at about 6:15 a.m. Thursday. He says the smoke alarms didn't go off when the fire started in the attic of their attached garage.

He says the chicken and a cat also escaped, but another cat died.

Neighbor Brad Krueger told WEAU-TV that he raised the chicken on his farm until dogs chased it away. The couple then started caring for it.

Gaede says he's heard of dogs and cats alerting people to fires but he was amazed to hear about the chicken.

The fire destroyed the house. The cause is still being investigated.

Copyright 2012: Associated Press

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Posted Thursday, December 27, 2012 --- 4:02 p.m.

From our sister station, WEAU in Eau Claire:

ALMA CENTER, Wis. (WEAU) – Firefighters say a pet chicken gave a sleeping couple warning so they could escape from their burning log home Thursday morning.

It happened around 6:15 a.m. on East Moore Road near Alma Center. Crews found the two-story home fully engulfed when they got there. It was destroyed in the fire. Nobody was hurt.

Alma Center Fire Chief Jeff Gaede says the smoke detectors in the home did not go off, but the couple’s pet chicken woke them up. Both of them escaped. The chicken and a cat also escaped, but Gaede says another cat died in the fire.

He says the fire started in an attic area above the home’s attached garage. Investigators have not determined what caused the fire.

Six departments provided mutual aid. Crews spent nearly five hours putting out the fire. The Red Cross also responded to help the victims.