Fire kills SEVENTEEN cats being housed in pet hotel – and injures one firefighter – at Los Angeles strip mall that authorities say was not equipped with any sprinklers
- Seventeen cats died in a fire that spread to their pet hotel at a Los Angeles strip mall
- Firefighters said the fire broke out Saturday morning with the flames and smoke spreading to the pet hotel, and the mall was not equipped with sprinklers
- Two cats were successfully rescued and taken to veterinarians
- One firefighter was injured in the 70 minute battle to extinguish the flames
Seventeen cats were killed at a Los Angeles pet hotel and a firefighter was injured early Saturday when a blaze ripped through a strip mall without any sprinklers.
More than 120 firefighters were dispatched to the blaze in the Palms neighborhood of Los Angeles after a passerby reported the fire around 5:45 am, said Brian Humphrey, a Los Angeles Fire Department spokesperson.
The fire was confined to a few structures, but heavy smoke poured through adjacent businesses including the pet hotel called Cat Place LA, Humphrey said.
‘Sadly, 17 cats perished at the scene. Two were rescued and saved,’ said Humphrey, who added that firefighters tried to revive the stricken cats but were ultimately unsuccessful.
There were no civilian injuries and the cause of the blaze was not known. The injured firefighter was taken to a nearby hospital and was expected to survive, Humphrey said.
Seventeen cats died in a fire that spread to their pet hotel at a Los Angeles strip
The felines were staying at the cage-free Cat Place LA pet hotel
As 120 firefighters worked to combat the flames, one of them was left injured
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Officials said it took firefighters 70 minutes to fully extinguish the fire, with officials noting that ‘none of the involved businesses were equipped with optional fire sprinklers.’
The two cats that survived were given to the facility’s owner and put in veterinary care. Their condition was not known, Humphrey said.
According to the pet hotel’s website, Cat Place LA is a ‘luxury cage-free hotel exclusively for cats.’
A GoFundMe page has been started for the business to raise $2,000 to help the owners of the facility.
A message left with the pet hotel was not immediately returned.
A GoFundMe page has been started for the business to raise $2,000 to help the owners
Firefighters said they worked to try to resuscitate the cats, but to no avail. Pictured: Guests at the Cat Place LA enjoying a meal in the free roaming facility
Two cats were saved from the fire and taken to vets. Pictured: a pair of cats enjoying hammocks at the pet hotel before the fire devastated it
Mohammed Zulfi, the owner of tobacco shop in the strip mall, said he was devastated by the fire, which took out his store and others at the location.
‘I work hard. It’s gone, everything,’ Zulfi told KTLA. ‘My mind is not good right now.
I’m very upset right now. You work hard and you don’t have anything to do.’
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