Cat Feared Dead Returns To Family Displaced By Fire In Temecula

TEMECULA, CA — A family displaced by a fire that tore through the upper level of their Temecula home found reason for cheer Thursday after a cat they thought had perished in the blaze showed up at the house.

"To their great relief, the cat turned up alive," Riverside County Fire Department Capt. John Clingingsmith told City News Service. "They had assumed the pet died in the fire and were grieving, but then they found it."

The feline apparently escaped the fire uninjured.

Clingingsmith said the parents and three children, whose identities were not disclosed, initially requested a chaplain due to their sense of loss, but that was ultimately determined to be unnecessary.

The cat is one of two belonging to the family, and now both are accounted for, he said.

The blaze was reported at 3:55 p.m. Wednesday in the 31000 block of Pauba Road, near Margarita Road.

The fire department said multiple engine and ladder crews were sent to the location and encountered flames burning on the top floor of the two- story house, extending into the attic.

Clingingsmith told CNS that all the occupants escaped unharmed.

Crews contained the fire by 4:35 p.m. and completely extinguished it roughly 20 minutes later.

Red Cross personnel were requested to assist the family with finding temporary alternate lodgings.

The cause of the blaze remained under investigation Thursday.

—City News Service