Atlantic City firefighters fought flood waters to extinguish a house fire and help save a cat Saturday.
Firefighters were called to Winchester and Annapolis avenues at about 10:30 a.m., where a fire started in the ground-floor garage of a a three-story multi-family unit, Fire Chief Scott Evans said.
While firefighters were on the scene, a resident from about a block away came to the chief and said she needed help.
She said "that a cat was stuck in her crawl space that was filled with water and they could not get to her," Evans said.
The fire was under control within 45 minutes, as firefighters fought it at the height of high tide in the bay, he said. The cause is under investigation.
Firefighters pose with the family and rescued cat.
Evans and members of Rescue One went to the other home, which is on the bay and was surrounded by water, he said.
They determined that there was no access to get under the house other than to cut a hole in the floor.
"Standing in the house and hearing the cat's cries for help, rescue quickly cut a hole in the floor only to find that the cat had disappeared," he said.
After about 10 minutes, as firefighters searched the hole with a flashlight, the cat appeared with its head barely above water.
The water was within inches of the floor, Evans said: "It's a miracle that the cat survived at all."
