PHILADELPHIA (AP) – The mayor and two of his bodyguards happened upon a house fire and ended up rescuing a cat, helping a victim and warning neighbors, officials and witnesses said.
Neighbor Dorothy Young said she saw the smoke Friday morning and went outside to find two children who lived in the house crying at the bottom of her steps.
“We were all in shock, just yelling and crying,” Young said. “I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was like a movie.”
Mayor John Street and two bodyguards, who had been walking to City Hall when they saw the burning home, rushed over to help, Young said.
The bodyguards carried a boy who suffered minor burns into Young’s home and went into the burning house to rescue a cat.
Street, clad in sneakers, sweats and a ballcap, began banging on doors and urging people to leave their homes, said city Commerce Director Stephanie Naidoff. He told her the story before leaving town for the weekend, she said.
Children playing with matches started the fire, and it was brought under control in a few minutes, said Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers. A 9-year-old was treated for minor burns, and three other people who lived in the house escaped without major injuries.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.