Cat saves owner from fire

A cat that alerted his owner to a mobile home fire in the Sunny Vista Mobile Home Park Wednesday night is now missing.

“I hope he got out,” said Spokane Valley Fire Department spokeswoman Melanie Rose.

The fire in the mobile home park on Trent near the Idaho state line was reported at 9:22 p.m. Wednesday. A 28-year-old man and a dog inside at the time of the fire escaped, but two cats remain unaccounted for.

The resident told firefighters that he was in his bedroom with the door closed when one of his cats became agitated. He opened the door and saw that the single-wide mobile home was full of smoke, Rose said.

“He shut the door and got out the back window,” she said.

The closest fire hydrant was buried in a large snow drift and the next closest one was out of service, which hampered firefighter efforts, Rose said. A water tender from Newman Lake Fire and Rescue was called to assist with water supply.

The cause of the fire is believed to be an overloaded electrical circuit, Rose said. The home had smoke alarms, but they were not working. The mobile home is a total loss.