Wow! I'm glad this didn't happen out in traffic. I've had this happen once and it was the master cylinder. It did us a give a bit of warning. My wife came home one day and said the brakes were acting a bit funny. One good hard push on the pedal finished it off in the garage. The pedal went to the floor after that.

Steve, I'm glad you and the bird are okay. Kind of makes that heater a minor concern.