Pets' hunt for leftovers leads to Calif. fire

By?Jim Schultz
The Record Searchlight

REDDING, Calif. ? A dog and cat that apparently teamed up to get their fill of Thanksgiving leftovers are being blamed for starting a Tuesday evening stove fire that spread and caused an estimated $175,000 in damage to a Reno Lane home in Redding and its contents.

Both pets died in the fire.

Redding Fire Department Fire Investigator Craig Wittner said Wednesday it appears the pets apparently tipped over a waste container that had been placed on a counter next to a gas range.

The home's resident had placed the trash container there to try to keep it out of their reach while she was away, he said.

The trash, including plastic and discarded Thanksgiving food, such as turkey bones, landed on the stove, he said.

Then the renter's 120-pound Newfoundland inadvertently switched on two of the gas stove's electronic-ignition burner knobs while trying to get to the food on top of the stove, Wittner said.

The burners ignited the trash, and the fire spread throughout the kitchen, he said.

Both pets died in the fire, but two other pets, a dog and a kitten, were rescued and taken to a veterinarian for treatment. Still another cat is missing, Wittner said.

Battalion Chief Jon Bauer said the fire broke out around 10:30 p.m. and was discovered and called in by the home's renter, Kaela Marshall, who had just returned after visiting her father.

Marshall, 23, whose eyes welled up while describing her pets, said she had her 3 1/2-year-old Newfoundland, Adonis, since he was a puppy.

"He was a big, easygoing dog," she said.

She also lost her 5-yearold longhair cat, Harvey, a turtle, fish and a variety of household items.

"I am more upset about my pets than anything else," she said.

Her 1-year-old Rottweiller, Rory, and an 8-week-old kitten, have responded well to their medical treatment after being taken to a vet, she said.

"They are both doing very well," she said.

She's also hoping that her 3 1/2-year-old longhair black cat, River, will turn up.

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to contain the fire, Bauer said. The fire was contained to the home's kitchen and part of its attic. It also burned through a portion of the roof.

But smoke and heat damage was widespread throughout the single-story residence, which is owned by Winnie and Kerry Crossley of Shasta Lake, Wittner said.

There were 14 firefighters and eight engines sent to the fire.

Wittner said the fire caused an estimated $125,000 in damage to the $250,000 home and another $50,000 in damage to its contents.

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Source: http://www.firerescue1.com/fire-attack/articles/1191475-Pets-hunt-for-leftovers-leads-to-Calif-fire/

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