Firefighters resuscitate cat after saving it from burning apartment in Santa Barbara
Firefighters responding to an apartment fire in Santa Barbara rescued a cat and then used oxygen to resuscitate it on the street, according to the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
A full structure-fire response was dispatched at 5:50 p.m. Thursday to the apartment complex on the 2200 block of Oak Park Lane, Battalion Chief Robert Mercado told Noozhawk.
Upon arrival, the first crew found smoke pouring out of a second-story studio unit in a building at the end of the complex.
Firefighters pulled a hose line and began dousing the flames, which were mainly to the rear of the apartment, Mercado said, adding that the fire was knocked down in about 10 minutes.
The residents were not at home at the time, Mercado said, and no one was injured in the fire. But a cat was found in the unit.
Firefighters brought out the feline and gave it oxygen, he said, and it was taken to a veterinary hospital for further treatment.
An investigator was called in, and determined that the fire likely was electrical in nature, Mercado said.
Other residents in the complex were able to return to their units, but the fire-damaged apartment remained uninhabitable pending cleanup, he added.
Damage was estimated at $10,000 to $15,000.
Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
