"At least one person has been injured and several animals killed after a fire at the Mason County Animal Shelter. A Mason County Emergency Services dispatcher identified as operator eight said it happened a little before 2:30 this afternoon when a man repairing the furnace went to light the pilot and there was an explosion. The dispatcher says the repairman suffered second- and third-degree burns and was transported by helicopter to a Huntington hospital. The injured man's name and condition are not available at this time. Television crews on the scene are reporting that at least 60 animals were saved but that a couple dozen cats died because the flames kept rescuers from getting to their cages. A W-O-W-K-T-V reporter and photographer were at the Point Pleasant-area shelter doing a story about the heating problems when the fire broke out. The two helped shelter employees in the rescue effort. Meanwhile, area residents are being asked to adopt the shelter's now homeless animals. Officials from a shelter in nearby Gallipolis, Ohio, picked up some animals but were unable to take in all of them."
I don't know if anyone lives in the area and can help, but maybe we can at least all send prayers and well-wishes their way. It absolutely breaks my heart to think of all the poor animals lost in the fire.
I'd be curious just how the explosion occured, sounds like either the furnace was out-dated and already a fire-hazard, or they hired an incompetent furnace repairman. It breaks my heart to hear of stories like this, because they are almost always preventable.
My heartfelt prayers are with the cats lost in this horrible tragedy....and for the remaining pets to be safely adopted.
No idea, Traci... said they were trying to light the pilot and it just exploded. From the reports and the website, it looks like they were trying to get a new system installed because there was something wrong with the old one... I have no idea.
I cried when I looked at the pictures of the lost animals on Petfinder. It's totally heartwrenching.
