Firefighters rescued one cat from an apartment fire, second cat still missing

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - A fire broke out at the 1100 block of West Wayne Street around 11:50 a.m. Sunday.

Nathan Jackson, a resident, said the building is actually an old three story house that has been split up into five apartments.

Jackson said he was vacuuming inside of his apartment when the power went out. He went downstairs to check the breaker box then went back upstairs to find smoke inside of his apartment. Jackson said the smoke was coming from underneath the kitchen sink.

Police said everyone evacuated the building safely and there were no injuries.

However, Stacey Fleming, Public Information Officer for the Fort Wayne Fire Department, said two cats were missing. Firefighters were able to later find and rescue one cat. The second cat is still missing.

Due to deteriorating conditions, firefighters were pulled back from fighting the fire at around 12:55 p.m. Officials said the building has a slate roof so the flames are not burning through the roof and are concentrated inside the building.

Officials said as of 1:30 p.m., firefighters were allowed back into the building and were working with the ladder truck.

Firefighters did not clear the scene until around 7:15 p.m. Sunday.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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