Edgewater, FL – Nearly 50 animals were saved by firefighters after a blaze broke out at a home near US 1 in Edgewater.
The road was briefly closed at the Park Avenue intersection soon after the Edgewater Fire Department responded to 112 West Pine Bluff Street around 4:30pm Wednesday.
EFD Captain Jill Danigel said it was a miracle that none of the animals – which included 2 prairie dogs, 5 dogs, 10 cats and approximately 30 birds – died or even needed much medical treatment after they were rescued.
“They really seemed in pretty good shape,” Danigel added. “We have some oxygen masks for animals and none of them needed that kind of care.”
Many of the animals appeared to be caged inside the home or in an RV near the home, per firefighters.
Some of the nearly 20 firefighters that responded spent 15 to 30 minutes pulling the animals out of the house and going around the property recovering some pets that managed to get out on their own.
Most of the other firefighters who responded were busy taking care of the flames and smoke.
Danigel says the fire was completely put out around 30 minutes after the call for help came in and that it appears to have started in the back corner of the home next to the carport.
“The cause of the fire was investigated by the Edgewater Fire Marshal and found to be accidental, relative to a failure of electrical wiring,” Danigel added.
It’s unclear if the fire was related to the home’s condition – which Danigel said looked as if a hoarder was living there – but that is something she says the Edgewater Fire Marshal will be looking into.
“It was very cluttered in the home,” Danigel noted. “It was extremely difficult and dangerous for our firefighters to get in there just because of the volume of items in the home.”
The home is not habitable and the resident – a woman – will be staying with other family members for now, per Danigel.
As for the animals, many of the woman’s neighbors will be temporarily housing all of them for now, but Danigel did note that the city’s code enforcement and animal control departments will investigate to see if the woman was in violation of city code and if she will be allowed to keep that many animals on the property going forward.
Photos above and below of the actual scene are courtesy of EFD.
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.