Investigators suspect arson, since the Portland Avenue property was unoccupied for nearly 20 years. The blaze was so massive, they had to call in fire crews from outside the area to help put it out. No people were inside when it burned, but there was this cat... The cat survived the smoke, survived the flames, beat the wrecking ball, beat the demolition claw, and escaped the dump trucks The fire started at three o'clock Friday morning and burned for about an hour. Then the wrecking ball followed, leaving mounds of bricks and wood. Trucks were dumping tons of dirt into the foundation, and while that was going on, someone heard a faint meow. A crew member spotted a cat soaked from the fire hoses and matted with soot. He explained, "We heard a meowing alongside the wall over there, and we looked down... there was a cat alongside the wall, and we were taking the debris out of the hole and I said Stop! We got to see what's down there, and we retrieved an injured cat." The animal control officer says the cat will clean up just fine. Aside from being scared all it got was a scuff mark on a hind leg. They took the cat right away to veterinarian... and then to the city animal shelter. |
