Andrew Carlson
Dalton firefighters train every day to be ready to save lives when they're called for help. At a house fire last month, that mission didn't end when all of the human beings were safe from a fire. Firefighters were also able to save the life of a beloved family house cat.
"Pets are another priority because we know how important pets are to their families," said Brandon Bray, a DFD battalion chief who was on the call. "People are first, obviously. But yeah, we always try to save pets, whether it be fish, snakes, dogs or cats."
Firefighters were called to a house on Bogle Street at 5:40 p.m. on July 26 with a report of a kitchen fire. When firefighters arrived, they found that the fire was spreading inside the house. A man outside of the house spraying water from a garden hose into the front door which likely saved the fire from spreading to the upstairs.
"We were told by the people that were living there that there was no one else inside," said firefighter Andrew Carlson. "But as we were waiting for (firefighters to connect to a hydrant for) water, I popped my head in there and started doing just a search real quick, and I saw cat trees and just happened to see the cat was trying to make it out. It was laying on the ground, struggling to breathe. I saw it in the TIC (Thermal Imaging Camera), picked it up, and ran it out."
Once outside, Carlson handed off the cat to firefighter Dwayne Pangle who got to work tending to the cat. It was covered in soot and struggling to breathe. Pangle used an infant-sized face mask to give oxygen to the pet to help it breathe.
"It did not look good," Carlson said. "It was lying up a hallway (next to) the kitchen and that entire wall was on the fire. On the other side, you could still feel heat through the wall, and the cat was on the other side of that fire... its feet were up, towards that wall. Its paw pads were burned and one side of its body, its hair was starting to be singed a little bit, just from the heat."
After some tense moments, though, the cat began to breathe normally again under firefighter Pangle's care.
"After a while, it started to stand back up and perk up," Carlson said.
Firefighters encouraged the family to take the cat to an emergency vet in Chattanooga, where it got a clean bill of health.
"We advised the occupants to get it to the emergency vet in Chattanooga, and we actually let them take an oxygen tank with them (for the trip)," Bray said. "It was great to hear that the cat made it. I was actually back over at the house when they got back and their whole demeanor had changed because the cat was okay."
Unfortunately, the house sustained extensive damage. Another family pet, a bird, was not able to be saved. The local Red Cross was able to place the family in a motel for the night to give them time to find other accommodations. No members of the family were hurt, though, and seeing their beloved cat rescued at least gave the day a happier ending.
"Even with everything that they lost," Bray said, "their pet was alive, so they were happy."