Seattle, Washington firefighters carried a man in a wheelchair from a duplex house fire last night, then rescued a cat and two kittens from the building.
Neighbors smelled smoke but were at first unable to pinpoint the source, as several residents called 911. The first 911 call came in at 7:52 p.m. reporting smoke in the intersection of Jackson and 26th Avenue South. Trucks arrived in the neighborhood and neighbors directed firefighters to a home in the 400 block of 26th Avenue South.
When firefighters arrived the upstairs residents of the burning building were out taking their children Trick or Treating, and the two brothers living downstairs were in their part of the house, unaware of the fire burning a few feet over their heads. Firefighters carried one of the men, who is confined to a wheelchair, down the front stairs to safety. The other brother is seen on a local news video hugging firefighters and thanking them for their help in getting his brother out.
It took crews 25 minutes to completely extinguish the flames. The fire was determined to have started when a lamp in the second floor residence fell onto a mattress.
While searching the 2nd floor for survivors, firefighters saved a cat named Lolita who was hiding in the bathroom. Several hours later, 2 more kittens were found hiding in the debris of the kitchen. All three cats were reunited with their owners. A third kitten and two dogs are still missing.
The upstairs family has four children, and both families are being assisted by the Red Cross.
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