A brave cat has been reunited with her owners after being rescued from a house fire in Brisbane, Australia. Pet cat Covey was recovered after a daring five-hour rescue mission was carried out by firefighters.
The fire tore through the residential district of Albion in the inner-north area of Brisbane, at 2.30am on 31 October, forcing residents to run out onto the streets. Up to 40 party goers at a Halloween event at Chloe and Carlos’ Paradizo dance studio also fled.
No-one was injured but the fire destroyed three properties, including the studio and the couple’s apartment above. The houses, on Gore Street, were old properties built largely of timber in the traditional Queenslander style, making them highly flammable. The old lead paint used in the buildings also meant a large amount of toxic smoke in the area, forcing firefighters from Queensland Fire and Emergency Services to use breathing equipment.
Witnesses said they heard two loud explosions before seeing what looked like a large bonfire burning down the side of the house next to the studio.
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After the shock of the event, Chloe and Carlos realised that tabby cat Covey was missing. Three days after the inferno they spotted her running through a hole in the rubble of their ruined property. “It just seemed impossible to get her,” said Chloe.
Firefighters spent three hours trying to entice the scared feline out with food to no avail. Although the building was unsafe, they then decided to cut into it with a saw in a daring mission to rescue the precious pet.
The delicate operation took a further two hours before Covey was reunited with her overjoyed owners around 9pm. “I’m praying that she will still be fine and that she wouldn’t get affected by the sparks of the machinery,” said Carlos, speaking to 7NEWS.
The studio, which specialises in Latin dancing and had just been renovated, will be demolished this Friday. The couple are putting a brave face on the disaster, saying they may have lost their home and belongings but still have everything they really need. “We couldn’t live with the pain of knowing that one of our cats was still missing,” said Carlos.
Owners Chloe Loh and Carlos Redondo cried tears of joy on being reunited with their beloved cat, despite the loss of their home and business in the blaze.
