Firefighters, Family Cat Credited With Saving Centreville Home in Fire

The Centreville Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire at a home on Central Street early Thursday morning.

Capt. Ritchie Shaw said the call came in at 6:35 a.m. from the homeowner reporting a fire in his attic.  Centreville called for mutual aid from the Lakeville Fire Department and the 20 firefighters quickly knocked down the blaze.

Capt. Shaw tells us the man had got up early to make breakfast and noticed the family cat was acting strangely and looking up at the ceiling.  It wasn't long before the man spotted the glow from the fire in the area of the chimney, woke up his family and called 9-1-1.  The three family members and their cat made it out of the house safely.

Shaw said it appears that hot gases in the flue had leaked into the attic through a compromised seal in the chimney and may have been smoldering for some time before igniting the rafters.

Firefighters worked quickly and were able to keep damage to a minimum.  There was very little personal property damage and Capt. Shaw said he expects the home will be livable again after some reconstruction.

Fire crews remained at the Central Street home for about 2 hours Thursday.