Happy Cat Sanctuary fire in Medford: No evidence of suspicious cause, officials say
Brookhaven Town fire marshals found no evidence of a suspicious cause for the fire that killed the founder of the Happy Cat Sanctuary rescue in Medford and more than 100 cats, the chief fire marshal said on Thursday.
The cause is officially considered to be undetermined, said Brookhaven Chief Fire Marshal Christopher Mehrman, adding that investigators from his office and the Suffolk County police arson unit could not rule out propane space heaters’ role in the fire.
The fire was reported about 7:30 a.m. Monday on Dourland Road. Rescuers said Christopher Arsenault, 65, was killed after he went back into the house in an attempt to rescue the cats. Services for Arsenault are still pending.
“We can’t rule out the use of propane space heaters in the house,” Mehrman said.
Fire marshals did not find any outward evidence of an explosion, reported by neighbors, Mehrman said, but said it’s possible aerosol cans or explosions may have exploded in the house.
Rescue groups on Friday will begin trapping and moving the remaining number of about 200 cats that are still on the sanctuary property and in the surrounding area.
The rescuers, led by Lisa Jaeger and her nonprofit Jaeger’s Run Animal Rescue, are working with the Suffolk County SPCA to track, trap and treat the remaining cats. There are about 150 still on the property, rescuers say, while up to 50 cats escaped into the surrounding neighborhood.
The SPCA will deploy its Mobile Animal Spay-Neuter Hospital, which has 28 cages, a sterilization area and a surgical operating room. It will be stationed at a Holbrook warehouse, where the rescued cats will be screened by veterinarians.
“It’s a mobile unit for veterinarians to be able to provide emergency care on site,” SPCA Peace Officer Michael Cusumano told Newsday aboard the bus Thursday. “It allows veterinarians to service the animals on an emergency basis and determine what type of care they’re going to need. It’s a good triage unit.”
A GoFundMe account had raised more than $600,000 for the sanctuary and to care for the animals.
The cats will be seen by a vet in the mobile clinic, Jaeger said. They will have to be sedated to be vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered and they will receive blood work, she said. The rescue operation is expected to last about two weeks, Jaeger said.
Various rescue organizations are planning to take the cats once they have been medically cleared, to either prepare them for adoption or rescue facilities. Most of the cats are feral and may not be available for adoption for several weeks.
Rescuers have saved about 30 cats since Monday that have been treated for burns or other illnesses, Jaeger said. One of the cats had to be euthanized.
The SPCA’s MASH unit is expected to be in place by the weekend in its first deployment in several years. The nonprofit has previously used the bus at disaster sites, following Superstorm Sandy, and to treat rescue dogs at Ground Zero following 9/11.
“That’s going to be a miracle because otherwise each cat would have to go to a veterinary clinic,” Jaeger said. “To have the veterinary clinic on-site is so much less stressful for the cats and the people doing the rescue.”
Brookhaven Town fire marshals found no evidence of a suspicious cause for the fire that killed the founder of the Happy Cat Sanctuary rescue in Medford and more than 100 cats, the chief fire marshal said on Thursday.
The cause is officially considered to be undetermined, said Brookhaven Chief Fire Marshal Christopher Mehrman, adding that investigators from his office and the Suffolk County police arson unit could not rule out propane space heaters’ role in the fire.
The fire was reported about 7:30 a.m. Monday on Dourland Road. Rescuers said Christopher Arsenault, 65, was killed after he went back into the house in an attempt to rescue the cats. Services for Arsenault are still pending.
“We can’t rule out the use of propane space heaters in the house,” Mehrman said.
Fire marshals did not find any outward evidence of an explosion, reported by neighbors, Mehrman said, but said it’s possible aerosol cans or explosions may have exploded in the house.
Rescue groups on Friday will begin trapping and moving the remaining number of about 200 cats that are still on the sanctuary property and in the surrounding area.
The rescuers, led by Lisa Jaeger and her nonprofit Jaeger’s Run Animal Rescue, are working with the Suffolk County SPCA to track, trap and treat the remaining cats. There are about 150 still on the property, rescuers say, while up to 50 cats escaped into the surrounding neighborhood.
The SPCA will deploy its Mobile Animal Spay-Neuter Hospital, which has 28 cages, a sterilization area and a surgical operating room. It will be stationed at a Holbrook warehouse, where the rescued cats will be screened by veterinarians.
“It’s a mobile unit for veterinarians to be able to provide emergency care on site,” SPCA Peace Officer Michael Cusumano told Newsday aboard the bus Thursday. “It allows veterinarians to service the animals on an emergency basis and determine what type of care they’re going to need. It’s a good triage unit.”
A GoFundMe account had raised more than $600,000 for the sanctuary and to care for the animals.
The cats will be seen by a vet in the mobile clinic, Jaeger said. They will have to be sedated to be vaccinated, microchipped, spayed or neutered and they will receive blood work, she said. The rescue operation is expected to last about two weeks, Jaeger said.
Various rescue organizations are planning to take the cats once they have been medically cleared, to either prepare them for adoption or rescue facilities. Most of the cats are feral and may not be available for adoption for several weeks.
Rescuers have saved about 30 cats since Monday that have been treated for burns or other illnesses, Jaeger said. One of the cats had to be euthanized.
The SPCA’s MASH unit is expected to be in place by the weekend in its first deployment in several years. The nonprofit has previously used the bus at disaster sites, following Superstorm Sandy, and to treat rescue dogs at Ground Zero following 9/11.
“That’s going to be a miracle because otherwise each cat would have to go to a veterinary clinic,” Jaeger said. “To have the veterinary clinic on-site is so much less stressful for the cats and the people doing the rescue.”
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