By Terry Date
The Eagle-Tribune
PELHAM, Mass. — Pelham firefighters extinguished a fire and used an oxygen mask to save a kitten they rescued when flames broke out in the basement of a house on Mammoth Road yesterday.
Although no one was injured, Maverick — a gray, 6-month-old kitten — barely escaped alive.
Firefighters were extinguishing the flames when they heard a cat mewing, firefighter Troy Babb said.
“Lt. (Greg) Atwood reached under a desk and grabbed it and handed it to me,” Babb said.
Babb brought the wet, scared kitten outside and gave him to the homeowner, Rick Davis.
Firefighters from Hudson used a donated pet oxygen mask to revive Maverick, who was on his side and gasping for air, Davis said.
The fire at 386 Mammoth Road started about 4:30 p.m., when an overheated tool sparked a fire on the basement floor and ignited a couch. The flames quickly spread to the ceiling.
Davis had just arrived home when he saw thick smoke coming from the side of the single-story duplex, Pelham fire Chief Jim Midgley said. Davis immediately called 911.
The heat gun, used for affixing items to a scrapbook, was on the floor in the recreation room and left plugged in, Midgley and Deputy Chief Ed Morgan said.
Five people were home, but they were near the pool behind the house and did not notice the fire, Morgan said.
Firefighters hauled a firehose into the basement and quickly knocked down the flames, Midgley said.
“Apparently, it started rolling overhead,” he said of the fire.
Shortly after the blaze was extinguished, Davis washed soot from the long-haired feline and held Maverick in the front yard, showing the relaxed and content pet to firefighters.
Firefighters hauled burned pillows, charred insulation and other fire debris to the front yard before cooling it down with water. They mopped their heads with towels in the hot, muggy conditions.
The recreation room had major smoke and water damage, but the house is otherwise habitable, Midgley said.
Still, the family decided they would stay elsewhere overnight because of the smell of smoke, the fire chief said. The other half of the duplex, 388 Mammoth Road, was not damaged by the fire, he said.
Copyright 2009