At approximately 3:30 a.m. on Thursday, the family’s cat noticed the flames. The parents and two children were sleeping when the cat pawed its way into their bedroom and bit the mother on the arm to warn her, according to the Edmonton Journal.
The County of Grande Prairie Fire Department in Alberta, Canada confirmed that the cat contributed to the rescue’s success.
“A cat is being credited with warning a family early this morning of a fire in their home,” County of Grande Prairie Fire Chief Trevor Grant said in a news release. “The family escaped the house unscathed.”
A second cat was also saved from the fire by firefighters.
William Vavrek, a freelance photographer, arrived on the scene just after fire crews started putting out the fire.
“When I arrived, there was smoke coming from the trailer,” Vavrek told CBS News.
Vavrek photographed firefighters from Clairmont, Dunes, and Sexsmith stations as they battled to limit the fire to the underside of the mobile home. He stood in front of the house and photographed one of the family’s cats being carefully taken down the front steps by one of the firefighters.
His photograph was on the front pages of several local newspapers and was widely shared online. “Hero kitten,” one FB user wrote in response to Vavrek’s popular snap on his photography page.
“Fantastic!” exclaimed another.
Firefighters are simply relieved that the family and their devoted feline are okay. The family has contacted the Red Cross Canada and will move while the fire is investigated by the government.
