Animal Lovers Praise Firefighters Who Performed CPR On Four Cats Saved From Burning Building

Jul 01, 2026 by apost team

What seemed like a routine apartment fire call quickly turned into a race against time to save four small lives.

Firefighters in Riverside County, California, had already extinguished an apartment fire on June 19, 2026, and were preparing to leave the scene when a neighbor rushed over with alarming news. Several cats were still trapped inside the smoke-filled home.

Without hesitation, firefighters Dave Colombo and Ray Guillen turned around and went back into the apartment to search for the missing pets.

Inside, they discovered four cats hiding beneath a bed. The animals had survived the flames but had been overcome by thick smoke and were no longer responding.

“As soon as I grabbed it, it fell over,” Guillen recalled. “You could tell it was in bad shape.”

The firefighters quickly carried each cat outside, where Capt. Mark Lewan and the rest of the crew immediately began emergency treatment.

Video released by the Riverside County Fire Department showed firefighters carefully fitting specialized oxygen masks over the cats’ faces while administering oxygen. Crews also performed gentle CPR techniques similar to those used on infants in an effort to restart the animals’ breathing.

For firefighters, those moments were critical. Although many pets escape direct injury from house fires, smoke inhalation can become deadly within minutes, especially when animals are trapped inside with nowhere to escape.

Thanks to the team’s quick response, the rescue effort was only beginning.

As firefighters continued working to revive the cats, no one knew whether the desperate measures would be enough to save them.

The firefighters refused to give up. As the cats lay motionless beside the fire engine, Capt. Mark Lewan took even more direct action to try to save one of the animals.

“I gave him mouth-to-snout and started rescue breathing for the cat, hoping to revive him and get him to start breathing again,” Lewan said in an interview with LOCAL 12. Moments later, the team’s efforts paid off.

All four cats regained consciousness after receiving oxygen and CPR at the scene. Fire officials later confirmed that every one of the rescued pets survived and was reunited with its owner, where they continued their recovery. No other injuries were reported.

The remarkable rescue has since touched thousands of animal lovers online, many praising the firefighters for treating the cats with the same urgency they would any human life.

“These guys are heroes to me! If those were my cats, I would be eternally grateful,” one person wrote.

Another shared, “As a cat owner myself! This warms my heart to see that they helped them! Bless you!!”

Others admitted the rescue brought them to tears.

“Omg this makes me cry. Thank you for saving even the littlest of lives, for they matter just as much,” one commenter wrote.

Another added, “Thank you, gentlemen, for saving these small lives. They may seem insubstantial, but I assure you your kindness has touched many more lives than just these kitties.”

For the firefighters, it was simply another call answered.

For one grateful owner, and for four very lucky cats, it became a rescue they will never forget.

apost.com

Have you ever witnessed someone go above and beyond to save an animal? And what would you have done if these had been your pets? Let us know and then pass this on to your family, friends and all the animal lovers you know out there!