Last Wednesday morning a fire broke out unexpectedly in a Jacksonville home. A woman and her two children got out of the house quickly upon recognition of the fire. However, when the Jacksonville Fire Department responded to the call, the family cat was still inside the house. Thankfully the firefighters were able to retrieve the cat from the home and give it oxygen with a pet oxygen mask to ensure the cat wouldn’t suffer the effects of smoke inhalation.
The fire was caused by something quite rare. A lightning strike that sent a nearby tree falling and caused an electrical charge that traveled from the roots of the tree to the home’s external air conditioning unit. The charge then traveled into the electrical system of the home and caused a fire.
The woman living in the home said she rushed her children outside when the fire broke out but she couldn’t find the cat. She was brought to tears by the dramatic rescue that saved her cat and returned it to her.
