A trio of three-week old kittens owe one of their nine lives to the Enderby Fire Department.
The kittens were discovered by firefighters during overhaul of a garbage pile fire that got away from a homeowner on Fortune Road, on Splatsin land, Saturday. The fire was called in just before 1:30 p.m.
“The homeowner had lit a pile of garbage, which was in the yard, on fire, left it unattended, the wind came up and sent sparks into the dry grass which surrounded the house and property, and also caught a camper and pull trailer on fire,” said Enderby Fire Chief Cliff Vetter. “The fire was inches away from starting the house on fire when we arrived.”
The cats were discovered later in an old pile of wood in the yard. They were suffering from burned hair, whiskers and feet.
“One of our members took them and will nurse them for a week, then will take them for a checkup,” said Vetter. “At that point, a decision will be made to either take them to the SPCA or the Okanagan Cat Coalition.”
Vetter said efforts to locate the kittens’ mother was unsuccessful, and that the homeowner was not aware of the kittens, nor knew the whereabouts of the mother.
Saturday’s blaze is a reminder from all fire departments to all homeowners and property owners in the Okanagan Valley that grasses are dry and drying, and fires can be easily started without full attention.
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