Firefighters rescued two critically injured people from a burning house in North Hollywood early Wednesday morning. Three cats were killed and a dog was unconscious before rescuers revived them.
Two men who escaped the fire told firefighters upon arrival that two other people were trapped inside the home, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. Firefighters entered and rescued the two victims, a 50-year-old woman who was left in serious condition and an 83-year-old man who was in critical condition, LAFD said.
“They were alerted by smoke alarms,” ​​LAFD Capt. Cody Weireter said of the two who fled, an 80-year-old man and a 35-year-old man. “Now, the unfortunate part, obviously, we transported two patients here on scene. But we could have had four and it could have been a lot worse. It’s been proven — smoke alarms save lives.”
The fire at the two-story home in the 11000 block of West Sarah Street was reported around 2:30 a.m., LAFD said. Within 30 minutes, firefighters said 57 firefighters had completely extinguished the heavy flames, which were mostly in the rear of the home.
Paramedics took the injured victims to the hospital by ambulance, LAFD said. They also rescued a dog and revived it after pulling it from the burning home, LAFD said. However, they were unable to revive cats that were also found inside.
“While the three resident cats were unfortunately beyond repair and were pronounced dead at the scene, firefighters were able to revive them and are providing supportive care to the rescued dog,” the LAFD said in an alert.
Volunteers from the American Red Cross disaster response team were also sent to the scene to help victims find shelter, as the house was so badly damaged that it was red-tagged.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation and no further information has been released by the LAFD.
