Tacoma — A structure fire partially damaged a Thurston County home Saturday afternoon and gave two kittens smoke inhalation.
In an unrelated incident a kitten became trapped in the wall of a Lacey apartment building.
The West Thurston Regional Fire Authority was called to the fire in the 6500 block of 105th Ave. SW around 4 p.m. when somebody in the area saw smoke.
The residents were not home.
Because the house was tightly closed up there wasn’t much damage from flames, firefighter Nathan Drake said. Air fuels fires.
But, the house was filled with smoke.
The kittens were found in a bedroom and taken back to the fire station. Using a special mask made for animals the kittens were given oxygen.
“We were able to give them some oxygen and some lovin’,” Drake said.
They were later reunited with their owner.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
In the other incident firefighters with Lacey Fire rescued a curious kitten Saturday evening.
The kitten had been stuck in the wall for at least two days, said Lacey battalion chief Mike Heikes.
“One of the neighbors heard in in the wall, meowing,” Heikes said.
It had apparently climbed in a gap between utility meters and the building’s siding.
The cat was taken to Animal Services where it would be paired with a nursing mother cat.
Fire departments do not generally respond to cats in trees but this situation was different.
“Every once in a while we have to help out our animal friends,” Heikes said.
