By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

WEST BLOOMFIELD — Four pet cats escaped with their nine lives after the West Bloomfield Fire Department put out a furnace fire Nov. 6.

According to reports, the Fire Department learned shortly before 2 p.m. that a West Bloomfield woman returning to her home in the 7200 block of Aaronway Drive opened the door to discover thick smoke inside.

Four minutes after the woman called 911, three West Bloomfield fire stations deployed crews to put out the fire. When the firefighters checked out the home, they discovered and extinguished the source of the smoke — a defective basement furnace that was on fire.

Fire Capt. Joe Slawek said the furnace fire extended into the home’s furnace duct. An answer to what caused the blaze was not entirely clear, he said.

“The furnace overheated,” he said. “Normally, there is a safety feature built into the furnace that prevents this from happening. And that particular component failed, causing the furnace to continue at a very high temperature. And as a result, it ignited dust that was present in the duct system.”

The Fire Department did not have a cost estimate for the damage, though Slawek said the home’s smoke detectors were working.

Not only did firefighters handle the incident without injuries, they also managed to help rescue four pet cats inside the home.

Slawek said the cats fled to the second floor to hide under furniture such as beds and chairs. But firefighters and the pet owner found the animals and took them to the vet to make sure that they did not suffer from smoke inhalation. The Fire Department had no information on the cats’ ages or breeds.

Pet rescue can be difficult when the animals are small, Slawek said. “Animals will typically hide from firefighters,” he said. “They’re known to stay low, where the freshest air can be found.”

Veterinarian Jerry Lepar from Keego Harbor’s West Bloomfield Veterinary Hospital said he knows that some people put their animals in a special crate at night. But he said it is unrealistic for pet owners to block every crevice in a home.

Nevertheless, he recommended a couple of tips that might keep a pet safer during an emergency. “There are stickers that can be put on the windows … to notify emergency personnel that there are pets in the house,” he said.

Lepar also recommended collaring or microchipping a dog or cat. “If an animal were to get out, now there’s some identification on the animal,” he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1058.