COWICHE — With Tuesday’s blaze at a mobile home in Cowiche under control, firefighters searched for hidden hotspots as the owners salvaged what they could.
And then, a faint meow as a calico cat crawled out of the smoking rubble of the ruined trailer.
That in itself makes Simona a miracle of sorts. More than half a million pets are affected by house fires every year, according to the American Kennel Club, and far too often, firefighters find them too late.
But even more impressive is Simona’s fighting spirit – or sheer determination to take advantage of every single one of her nine lives.
Simona was rescued from rubble in Iraq by an American solider about 10 years ago, according to her owner, Charles Bush.
He told firefighters that a pet rescue organization arranged to fly Simona home to Tri-Cities for the soldier. When the soldier moved into a place that wouldn’t allow cats, Bush and the woman who owned the Cowiche trailer took her in, said Carol Roth, a volunteer firefighter for Naches.
Along with West Valley and Naches Heights firefighters and a crew support vehicle from Selah, Roth was among Naches volunteers assisting the Highland Fire Department in battling the blaze.
The fire was reported about 12:30 p.m. in a mobile home complex at 16981 Summitview Road.
Chief Sam Glanzer of the Highland Fire Department said he arrived to find flames coming from the front door and window.
Bush and the owner of the trailer noticed fire coming from behind a couch and then safely left the home, Glanzer said Tuesday.
Glanzer said the cause of the fire was unclear. The Yakima County fire marshal’s office was called to investigate.
Damage was estimated at between $20,000 and $30,000.
Roth was standing down as other firefighters were mopping up when she heard someone call, “Here, kitty, kitty” from the other side of the trailer.
“I dashed around the corner and there’s this cat coming out from under the foundation of a house that had been completely involved,” Roth said.
Simona was panting after emerging from underneath a bedroom, prompting West Valley firefighter Leif Pray to use a pet oxygen mask for the first time in his five years with the department.
While she wasn’t burned, Simona was panting and from a human EMT perspective, in respiratory distress, Roth said. She likely suffered from smoke inhalation and exposure to intense heat.
“She wasn’t all there. She was panting really hard,” Pray said of Simona. He administered oxygen as Bush held her.
After “quite a few minutes,” Simona jumped out of Bush’s arms and ran under a car, Pray said. She was still there when firefighters left, Roth said.
“You could tell she was feeling a lot better,” Pray added.
Firefighters had heard there were cats inside the trailer but expected the worst.
“A lot of the time, by the time we get there … it was too much smoke inhalation or they didn’t make it out,” Pray said.
Yakima County fire departments have had pet masks for a few years now, thanks to a grant, Roth said. Firefighters have rescued a few animals in that time, including a rooster.
Pray was happy to help save a pet, and such a storied one at that.
“It’s a pretty crazy story. … Her owner said she had been a world traveler,” Pray said.
