Tragedy averted after flowerpot catches fire outside Frankie's Friends cat rescue
A fire that sparked at the rescue's doorstep
Sunday night could've been an Easter tragedy if not for a neighbor who jumped into action.
Becky Morrow's heart is inside Frankie's Friends cat rescue on Fifth Avenue in New Kensington. That's where she gives felines a second chance, no matter how sick or injured they are.
Her heart dropped when she picked up a phone call around 5:30 p.m. on Easter Sunday.
"I was sitting not far away at Starbucks and got a call from the Westmoreland 911, and they said Frankie's Friends is on fire. So, shock, of course, and we ran down very quickly," said Morrow, founder, president and medical director of the rescue.
New Kensington Fire Chief Ed Saliba said a fire had sparked in a plastic planter outside the front door. He said the pot had potting soil and peat moss in it.
Morrow was only five minutes away when she found out. All she could think about was the 80 or so kitties inside her rescue's building.
"Were we going to have to treat the cats? Were we going to have to get the cats out to safety? That was the main concern, was how are these little animals doing, and what can we do to help them?" Morrow said.
"I was terrified. I was petrified. Like, are we going to lose everybody, are we going to lose everything?" said Alison Osman, a vet tech and cat caretaker at Frankie's Friends.
Osman said a man who goes by Tido and owns Tido's Corner on the street came to the rescue of all the kitties.
"He had noticed somebody creeping down the street really slow, and that's when it made him suspicious and that's when he came out and he looked and noticed there was a fire, ran back and got his fire extinguisher and put it out before anybody else showed up," Osman said.
"I gave him a big hug. He let us know he knows how much the cats mean to us, so he was very happy to help," she added.
"Anybody who stops this from spreading is a hero in our minds," Morrow said.
Medics, police, and firefighters quickly arrived at the scene. Chief Saliba said medics and police got to the scene to help, then firefighters finished the job. He said it could have ended tragically.
"We almost lost a lot of lives," Morrow said.
Chief Saliba said he believes the fire was accidental and caused by a cigarette butt or spontaneous combustion.
There's minor damage to the exterior of Frankie's Friends Care Center. The rescue's vet clinic wasn't damaged.
Morrow said while they're looking to get repairs made and ways to prevent fires in the future, they're cherishing every purr and head scratch as all of Frankie's Friends still have all of their nine lives.
"The buildings can be replaced, but little kitties cannot be replaced," Morrow said.
"The amount of people that were here immediately to help was incredible. Somebody coming over to put the fire out, and then people coming to assist with rescue if we needed it, everybody was here and ready. They heard it and came, and we really thank them all," she added.
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