OCFRD and @OrangeCoSheriff remain on scene. Fire crews attacking fire from outside. PIO on scene. https://t.co/INMMsW1YGg pic.twitter.com/QjiP4k8gk7
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) September 16, 2021
Orange County Fire Rescue (OCFR) fought off the flames consuming the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando (PAGO) late on the night of Wednesday, September 15th, 2021. Efforts to rescue all of the trapped animals inside stretched into Thursday afternoon.
While firefighters rescued all 26 dogs housed at the shelter that night, 13 cats died the blaze, with four missing, presumed alive. However tragic, these numbers are far more optimistic than they were by Thursday morning, when it was believed that 22 cats had perished.
Proportionally, the number of cats killed versus dogs was due to the origin point of the fire, which started very close to where the shelter housed the cats.
“They keep them separate,” an Official reported, “So, just where the fire was and where the animals were, the dogs were in an area where the fire hadn’t really reached yet.”
An Animal Lover’s Worst Nightmare
There are quite a few people out here. One woman I spoke to was in tears because she wants to help. I understand that pain, I’m a huge animal lover too. I will tweet out if they need people to help or bring carriers. Waiting on info from officials. @fox35orlando pic.twitter.com/H2kygLOxQY
— Samantha Sosa FOX 35 (@SamanthaSosa_) September 16, 2021
“If you run a shelter, this is literally your worst nightmare,” said an emotional Stephen Bardy, Executive Director of Pet Alliance, during a press briefing.
“To see your building on fire, and know that there are animals in there that you’re charged to care for and you can’t go in — I’m grateful that the firefighters put their lives at risk to help save as many as they could.”
A Group Effort That Saved Lives
MIRACLE! Two cats were found alive this morning after the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando went up in flames. One of them is pregnant. Hoping for the best as fire rescue continues to search the building #FOX35 pic.twitter.com/vOIaPyJLrO
— Amanda McKenzie FOX 35 (@AmandaMckNews) September 16, 2021
Overnight, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and OCFR worked tirelessly alongside Orange County Animal Services; still finding cats hiding within the destroyed structure a full 12 hours after the fire started.
Another cat is found alive! It has been 10 hours since the @petallianceGO went up in flames. #FOX35 pic.twitter.com/oqYPMIbDia
— Amanda McKenzie FOX 35 (@AmandaMckNews) September 16, 2021
“We did have a roof collapse in there so making access to all of the animals was kind of difficult,” Battalion Chief Steve Sherrill, from Orange County Fire Rescue.
Several OCSO deputies, along with members of @OCAS_Orlando @OCFireRescue and @petallianceGO entered the building while it was on fire and rescued numerous dogs & cats before the fire became too overwhelming. pic.twitter.com/gvqx6VozQw
— Orange County Sheriff’s Office (@OrangeCoSheriff) September 16, 2021
Released body-cam footage from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and photos later posted on their Facebook page, show officers extracting animals from the building, relieved and smiling upon finding them alive.
After that, they passed them off to Animal Services for examinations and care.
You Can Help The Shelter Too!
“We’d like to recognize and thank everyone involved for their response and their courage in rescuing as many lives as they could,” Orange County Animal Services said, in a prepared statement.
“We also want to offer condolences to our brothers and sisters at PAGO for the loss of lives, and remind them that OCAS is always here for them, as they have been for us in the past.”
After the devastating news of a fire overnight, Second Harvest responded by delivering donated pet food from local grocers to @petallianceGO. After all, food is love when words are inadequate. #StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/CT2PFBS7jT
— Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida (@feedhopenow) September 16, 2021
By 5PM on Thursday, PAGO posted an update to their Facebook page with updates on the animals, as well as emotional gratitude for the outpouring of love and donations they received. They followed with a post on Friday afternoon, detailing how anyone interested could assist in their recovery.
Carts of donations are overflowing here at @petallianceGO in Sanford. Employees thanked the community for showing up during this tragic time. @MyNews13 #centralflorida #rescue #pets #news #fire pic.twitter.com/TlTLHbaSnZ
— Autumn Calica (@AutumnCalica) September 16, 2021
If you’d like to help the shelter care for the animals who survived, you can make donations on the Pet Alliance website. You can also direct any questions regarding donations by email to [email protected].
Are you grateful to the amazing people who saved so many animals from the fire? Will you help spread the word about donations to Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando so they can care for the pets who survived? Let us know in the comments below!
