Cat receives CPR at scene of apartment fire in Collier County

 

 

A fire broke out in a neighborhood in Collier County Monday afternoon.

The fire started in one of the units on the second floor of an apartment complex. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire successfully, according to authorities at the scene.

There were five cats inside the apartment at the time of the fire. Four were rescued and are in good health. The fifth cat was given CPR on the scene by first responders.

North Collier firefighters say they found the cat struggling to breathe through the heavy smoke, so they used a special mask to give him oxygen.

“We had to fight with the cat because he was fighting tooth and nail trying to get away from us, but we got the mask on him, gave him some oxygen and helped get him back,” said one of the rescuers.

The cat was revived and is now breathing on its own. The cat was taken to an animal hospital, police said.

There was no one else inside the apartment and no injuries to anyone else on the scene. It is unclear what started the fire.

Neighbors are now on edge because not one single fire alarm went off. They say they didn’t even smell the smoke until rescuers banged on their doors, telling them to get out of their apartments.

The fire department says each apartment has a fire alarm, but no one was home where the fire started to pull an emergency handle that would have notified neighbors to get out.