Four people were taken to hospital after fire struck a home near the intersection of Hamilton and Egerton roads east of downtown London on Wednesday morning.
Three cats were rescued from the house – at least one was revived with oxygen by a firefighter – and then taken to a veterinary clinic by a neighbour.
“I didn’t care that I didn’t have a home, that I lost everything. I just wanted my cats,” said Taylor Roach, who lives in one of the two apartments in the house at 603 Hamilton Rd. and raced there upon learning of the blaze, which broke out about 9:30 a.m.
“I think they’re OK. I didn’t know if they were alive. I felt overwhelmed. It was all I could think of.”
Four people had already fled the home by the time firefighters arrived, officials said. One of the four was seriously injured, London Fire Department platoon Chief Brent Shea said.
As of shortly after 11 a.m. the fire was out. Seven fire trucks responded to the blaze and damage was estimated at $600,000. “This house is a great example of why everyone needs a working smoke alarm in your home,” Shea said.
There was no one to immediately care for the rescued cats so neighbour Sandra Barreto said she took them home and then to Shaw Road Veterinary Clinic to be checked.
“I live around the corner and peeked out the window and saw the house was on fire. The firefighters were giving the cats to the people who were there but no one was taking them,” she said, noting some of the cats were sneezing, had singed fur and one needed oxygen to be revived.
“I’m an animal lover. I’ll do anything for animals. I felt badly for them so I just wanted to help them out.”
The cats were in good health, she says she was told. Officials at the clinic wouldn’t discuss the health of the cats with The Free Press but said they’d been released to their owner.
At Oasis Dental Hygiene Care next door to the blaze, the owners were “relieved” their business wasn’t damaged.
“They were fantastic, very responsive. They did a terrific job,” Colin Hodgins, whose wife owns the business, said of firefighters. “We’re very relieved they put out the fire quickly.”
Roach, who lived with his girlfriend in the fire-gutted house, is now staying with family and says he’s started looking for a new place. He expressed gratitude for the firefighters who saved his cats.
“It’s a giant shock,” he said. “No one expects their house to burn down.”
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