CHANDLER, Texas — **EDITOR'S NOTE -- the video attached was produced in May 2022 and does not relate to the story.
A house fire that broke out in the city of Chandler on Aug. 16 led to the life-saving measures of one family feline from three municipalities' fire departments.
At around 8:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, the Brownsboro Fire Department and the Smith County ESD 2 were called out to assist the Chandler Fire Department extinguish a fully involved structure fire within the city.
The family of the home, including the dog, had escaped the house but one member was still hiding in the residence: their beloved cat. A post from BFD details that the cat had "managed to escape the owners grasp and disappeared into the smoke before they could make it out safely with her."
Upon arrival, CFD ran a hose around the back of the home to knock down the backend of the fire. BFD and CFD made entry into the home through the front door, garnering a second hose line for attacking the fire in the attic.
During a preliminary search of the home, Nala, the cat, was found hiding under the owners' bed. Nala was suffering from heat exposure and smoke inhalation when firefighters took her out of the house to perform life-saving measures.
As oxygen and fresh breathing air were administered to Nala through an oxygen mask that covered the cat's face, her core body temperature was lowered to help her recover from prolonged heat exposure. After this was administered for a brief time, Nala began to show promising signs of recovery.
Nala was taken to an emergency vet clinic in Tyler to watch overnight, after which she was returned to her family fully recovered. While all of the cat rescue was taking place, firefighters managed to extinguish the fire.