Numerous Cats Killed in Aleutian Trailer Fire
Numerous Cats Killed in Aleutian Trailer Fire
By Lee RevisEditor, Valdez Star
ALEUTIAN VILLAGE- What Valdez firefighters described as an extremely hot fire inside a small mobile home in Aleutian Village on the Richardson Highway Saturday turned deadly for 17 cats trapped inside the tightly shut trailer. "I just wish the cats hadn't been there," said a tear streaked Jeri Devens, owner of the small home and the cats.
Devastated and still in shock, Ms. Devens says she believes one cat, an orange tabby, may have survived the fire may be at large in the trailer park. Choking back tears, Ms. Devens stated that it was unclear how many cats ran out the front door after fire fighters tried to put out the fire, which was reportedly burning hot and fast inside the home, but had not spread outside the frame of the home. There were reports that up to three cats had run out the front door, but after counting the remains of all the cats on Monday, Ms. Devens said she was certain that 17 cats had perished, most probably from smoke inhalation.
Sifting through the remains of the fire, which was so hot it melted smoke detectors and plastic storage bins inside the home, Ms. Devens said she is not sure what she and her family are going to do next, as the shock of the loss is still fresh. "A lot of my grandma's stuff burned up," she said sadly, while trying to decide what is salvageable and what isn't. Plastics melted beyond recognition and water and smoke damaged clothing are all mixed together with other items which stored inside the trailer, where the family lived only part time, in between building a home they have been constructing for years at 19 Mile. While the cause of the fire is unknown, Ms. Devens said she believes the fire may have started in the kitchen, where her family had an old refrigerator hooked up to an extension cord. "I'm such a freak about fires," she said while lamenting that they had not unplugged the old appliance. She said fire was such a concern to her, that she often unplugged electrical appliances before leaving home, even small things like alarm clocks.
While Ms. Devens says the family counts its blessings that no people were hurt in the fire, the sheer number of cats killed is a nightmare that won't end soon and she wishes she'd been able to let the cats outside when they weren't home, but had not be able to do so for some time, due to problems with neighbors over the years. She says the cats, who were mostly well into their teens in age, came to live with her a number of years ago when a stray pregnant cat who lived under another trailer across the street had grown daughters who also started reproducing kittens, which soon numbered in the twenties. She says her family tamed the mostly feral animals and that they been spayed and neutered thanks to the efforts of the Valdez Animal Shelter years ago.
Ms. Devens, who was heading to work in Cordova at the time of the fire, says the family will be looking for another mobile home, possibly a "fixer upper", while they evaluate the damage to try to decide what to do next. She says she is trying to make three piles, "Save, maybe and junk it."
By Lee RevisEditor, Valdez Star
ALEUTIAN VILLAGE- What Valdez firefighters described as an extremely hot fire inside a small mobile home in Aleutian Village on the Richardson Highway Saturday turned deadly for 17 cats trapped inside the tightly shut trailer. "I just wish the cats hadn't been there," said a tear streaked Jeri Devens, owner of the small home and the cats.
Devastated and still in shock, Ms. Devens says she believes one cat, an orange tabby, may have survived the fire may be at large in the trailer park. Choking back tears, Ms. Devens stated that it was unclear how many cats ran out the front door after fire fighters tried to put out the fire, which was reportedly burning hot and fast inside the home, but had not spread outside the frame of the home. There were reports that up to three cats had run out the front door, but after counting the remains of all the cats on Monday, Ms. Devens said she was certain that 17 cats had perished, most probably from smoke inhalation.
Sifting through the remains of the fire, which was so hot it melted smoke detectors and plastic storage bins inside the home, Ms. Devens said she is not sure what she and her family are going to do next, as the shock of the loss is still fresh. "A lot of my grandma's stuff burned up," she said sadly, while trying to decide what is salvageable and what isn't. Plastics melted beyond recognition and water and smoke damaged clothing are all mixed together with other items which stored inside the trailer, where the family lived only part time, in between building a home they have been constructing for years at 19 Mile. While the cause of the fire is unknown, Ms. Devens said she believes the fire may have started in the kitchen, where her family had an old refrigerator hooked up to an extension cord. "I'm such a freak about fires," she said while lamenting that they had not unplugged the old appliance. She said fire was such a concern to her, that she often unplugged electrical appliances before leaving home, even small things like alarm clocks.
While Ms. Devens says the family counts its blessings that no people were hurt in the fire, the sheer number of cats killed is a nightmare that won't end soon and she wishes she'd been able to let the cats outside when they weren't home, but had not be able to do so for some time, due to problems with neighbors over the years. She says the cats, who were mostly well into their teens in age, came to live with her a number of years ago when a stray pregnant cat who lived under another trailer across the street had grown daughters who also started reproducing kittens, which soon numbered in the twenties. She says her family tamed the mostly feral animals and that they been spayed and neutered thanks to the efforts of the Valdez Animal Shelter years ago.
Ms. Devens, who was heading to work in Cordova at the time of the fire, says the family will be looking for another mobile home, possibly a "fixer upper", while they evaluate the damage to try to decide what to do next. She says she is trying to make three piles, "Save, maybe and junk it."
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