The blaze was contained to one unit at the Fort Dearborn House apartment complex in the 400 block of West Doran Street. Though no humans were hurt, one firefighter made a sad discovery.
"Our firefighter found a lifeless cat in the kitchen," said Capt. Daniel Schaefer of the Glendale Fire Department. "It was essentially dead."
Firefighters credit her rescue with a small piece of equipment they carry in their gear that's specially designed for animals. It's called an animal oxygen mask, and firefighters knew exactly what to do when they saw the motionless cat.
"He brought it out, put it on the gurney, administered our animal oxygen mask, we administered oxygen by nose and mouth and the cat regained consciousness," Schaefer said.
The cat had to spend time in an oxygen chamber at a local pet hospital to help clear out the smoke from her system, but is doing well now.
"This cat is doing wonderfully, especially after a fire," said Steven Richard McNall of the Pasadena Humane Society, where the cat is staying.
Now the Humane Society is waiting for the rightful owner, likely the renter of the burned out apartment, to pick up the black cat that is believed to be 12 years old.
