A house fire in Beacon city in New York led firefighters to 70 cats. Initially firefighters were told that the woman who lived in the house could still be inside and when they saw a car in the driveway and a walker, they thought a handicapped woman could be inside the home so they entered via the front door.
The fire was in the kitchen, an accidental electrical fire. Firefighters quickly put the fire out and then conducted a search for the missing woman.
They didn’t find any humans but did find 70 cats. Seven died from smoke inhalation and cats ran from the home during the fire. Initially 49 cats were caught or captured or found and they are setting traps to try to get the rest of the cats that fled the fire.
The woman who lived there returned home about an hour later and the Red Cross is helping her with housing.
There’s a YouCaring.com campaign to help the surviving cats.