The woman clutched her cat black cat who was wearing a pink collar close to her as she stood in the street, and someone captured the moment in an image which was shared by WBZ-TV.
A second cat who was also rescued is seen in a photo by Ashley Green, of the Sentinel& Enterprise - a grey tabby.
In addition to fighting the fire and helping residents with their pets, Fitchburg firefighters made time for a little boy who came to the scene dressed in a firefighter’s outfit which he may have been planning to wear for Halloween.
The fire is thought to have been started by a ceiling fan which malfunctioned in the upper unit of the multi-family Granite Street home.