The Associated Press
NESCONSET, N.Y. — Police say a smoky blaze in a Long Island, N.Y., house full of animals killed 14 of them, including cats, dogs, rats and a crow.
Several people — and a total of 28 other cats, dogs, doves and raccoons — were rescued as firefighters and police fought their way through a labyrinth of animal cages in the home.
The house fire was reported just after 5 p.m. Saturday. Suffolk County police Lt. Kevin Burke says the smoke was so thick that an officer "had to feel his way out" after rescuing a woman from a back bedroom.
One firefighter was hospitalized with chest pain. Another firefighter and an officer were treated for various injuries.
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