Firefighters Extinguish Fire and Rescue Cats From Burning Home

Willingboro Firefighters extinguished a small fire and rescued several cats from a buring home in Country Club Park on the morning of October 17th. At 11:12 am the department was called to 25 Clearwater Drive for a house on fire. Chief of Department Burnett arrived to find smoke coming from the second floor and reports of a bedroom on fire. Engine 1613 arrived in five minutes and the crew stretched a 1 3/4" hoseline to the second floor of the home.

Firefighters C. Clark and Robertson found a small fire in the master bedroom. They were quickly able to extinguish the fire. Once they started to remove smoke and heat from the second floor they dicovered several cats overcome by smoke. They immediately notified Chief Burnett, who then called for Willingboro Animal Control. With the assistance of Captain Gardner, the firefighters removed eight cats from the home. Willingboro Animal Control transported the cats to a local veterinary hospital.

A crew from Beverly assisted with removing smoke and ensuring the fire didn't travel to other areas of the home. Chief Burnett put the fire under control at 11:22 am. All of the fire damage was contained to the bedroom. Four cats were found expired due to the smoke from the fire. There were no working smoke detectors on the second floor of the home.

The home was deemed uninhabitable by the Willingboro Township Inspections Department and the American Red Cross was called to assist with temporary housing for two adults and two teenagers. There were no civilian or firefighter injuries as a result of the fire. An investigation by the Burlington County and NJ State Fire Marshal Offices found the fire to be accidental in nature. All units were released from the scene at 1:16 pm.