Cat alerts sleeping occupants to Md. house fire, official saysI'm
LOCAL CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY
Cat alerts sleeping occupants to Md. house fire, official says
The blaze broke out in a Montgomery County home.
By Martin Weil
July 15, 2024 at 4:06 a.m. EDT
It was the continued pawing of the cat that woke the sleeping occupants of the burning house on Sunday morning in Montgomery County, the fire department spokesman said.
It appeared that no standard smoke alarm was present in the townhouse in the Gaithersburg area, said Pete Piringer, the fire spokesman.
But alerted by the cat, the occupants of the house on West Side Drive eventually got out safely, Piringer said.
Despite efforts to rescue the cat, however, the animal perished, he said.
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An effort was made to carry the cat to safety. But the animal jumped out of the arms of his would-be rescuer, Piringer said.
The cat went back inside and died from the smoke, the spokesman said. The animal was a hero, Piringer said.
The animals name and other details could not be learned immediately.
By Martin Weil
Martin Weil is a longtime reporter at The Washington Post. Twitter
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