A house fire at your home is one of the most stressful and upsetting events that families may have to face. Tragically, they can result in a loss of life but there are things that you can do to make sure that your loved ones have the best chance of staying safe should the unthinkable happen. As well as installing early systems such as smoke alarms and detectors, you can make sure that all family members know what they should do if a fire breaks out. Even children can be taught how they should react but sadly pets are not so easy to train, and this can leave them in danger. This is when we rely on the brave heroes of the emergency services.
In a recent incident reported by Fox News, a family in Central Islip in New York had to face this situation when a fire broke out in their home at around 3 in the afternoon. Mom was out of the house briefly running an errand leaving her two boys, aged 11 and 13 at home. The police describe that she “was only gone for a short time.” Yet sadly when she was out a fire started in her home.
As two police officers, Officer Sergio Rivera and Officer James Galanos arrived, the young brothers were coming out of the house. Unfortunately, the family pets had not done the same!
The family’s 2-year-old Chihuahua called JJ and their 2-year-old cat called Tiger were still inside the house and had reacted to the fire by hiding themselves away. However, the brave officers from Suffolk County Police Department mounted a rescue.
A statement from the department read “It was a lucky day for a Chihuahua named JJ and his feline friend Tiger when two Suffolk County police officers rescued them from a burning house yesterday.”
“The officers made entry through the back of the house, and saw Tiger, a 2-year-old male cat run toward the basement. Due to the smoke, the officers could not initially locate the dog but fortunately heard JJ whimpering near a couch. They found him inside a crate near the fire.”
Officer Rivera carried the crate containing the frightened pooch out of the house, but Officer Galanos went back in and discovered the cat in the basement. Amazingly, he managed to rescue the kitty as well. Commenting on the rescue, Rivera told Newsday “It’s what I joined for. This is what I wanted to do, be helpful, make someone’s day,” he said, adding that he’s “thankful that I belong to a Suffolk County family that is here to help everybody.”
A police department spokesperson confirmed that the animals, the boys and all members of the emergency services were uninjured following the incident.
There are no more details available on the cause of the fire which has been investigated by detectives.
