WATERLOO, IOWA - Firefighters rescued total of 4 cats from a Waterloo home after it caught fire shortly before noon on Sunday.
One man was taken to Covenant Medical Center for treatment for possible smoke inhalation, said Battalion Chief Marty Freshwater with Waterloo Fire Rescue. The American Red Cross was immediately contacted to provide the family with emergency shelter.
The four house cats were all taken to a local veterinarian for observation.
The fire appears to have started in a plastic trash bin which sat outside next to the house, official said. The residents had earlier emptied ashes from the home’s fireplace into this particular bin, Freshwater said. The ashes apparently ignited the trash can, and the flames spread up the side of the home and quickly made their way into the home, damaging an electrical line coming into the house.
A smoke alarm sounded inside the home, and the residents did evacuate. When firefighters arrived, flames were shooting from the side of the house, Freshwater said.
Minutes into the operation, firefighters began to one by one locate the family’s cats inside the home. They were given oxygen inside a fire engine cab until city Animal Control workers arrived to take the cats to a veterinarian shortly after.
The home did sustain considerable damage from the flames, heat and smoke, Freshwater said.