Firefighters save pets

By WENDY MITCHELL, Staff Writer

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 11:39 PM EST

Maysville firefighter Brian White returns a family pet to its owner, Heather Highfield Tuesday afternoon after rescuing the pet from a house fire on Houston Avenue in Maysville. No one was at home at the time of the blaze. -- Terry Prather/Staff
It was a bad day for John and Heather Highfield's house but a good day for their beloved pets, thanks to a meter reader and firefighters, after a fire was discovered at their home on Houston Avenue, Tuesday.

"A ceramic heater too near a bed may have started the fire, that is still under investigation" said MFD Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Brammer. "They were both at work at the time of the fire. A Kentucky Utilities guy was reading meters when he saw the smoke coming from the house."

Once the Highfields were made aware of the fire, they headed home and informed firefighters their pets were in the house.

A Boston terrier, named Boston was found and rescued without harm, but the couple's yellow tabby cat was unresponsive when it was found by firefighters.

"They put a non-rebreather (oxygen apparatus) on the cat and had to pump oxygen into it for a few minutes to get it to come around," said Brammer.

Covered in sooty smoke and appearing a bit confused, the cat responded and was returned to its owners, along with "Boston."

"They were very lucky," said Brammer.

Because of the way the family normally closed all the interior doors when they were not home, the fire was contained to the bedroom, said Brammer.

"That was a good thing; if the doors had been open they probably would have lost the whole house. It may have been smoldering for a while in that bedroom," said Brammer. "Both animals apparently were in the laundry area."

With the house suffering an undetermined amount of damage, the Highfields would probably be staying with family members for the night Tuesday, said Brammer.

For more area news, go to http://www.maysville-online.com.

Contact Wendy Mitchell at wendy.mitchell@lee.net or call 564-9091, ext. 276.

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