ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A kitten and a chicken were saved after an electrical malfunction caused an explosion and fire that destroyed a double wide trailer home in Bithlo and left a deputy injured.
Orange County Fire Rescue public information officer Mike Jachles said the fire was reported around 4:17 p.m. Friday on Glenn Road when neighbors said they saw explosions at the back of the home.
Jachles believes an electrical malfunction caused a fire ball and the flames spread from there.
10-month-old kitten, Chevelle, escaped the burning mobile home when one of the first @OrangeCoSheriff deputies arrived on scene and heard it meowing inside and opened the door, crawled inside and grabbed the kitten. #UPDATE pic.twitter.com/DG0CM71GOP
— OCFire Rescue (@OCFireRescue) January 31, 2020
The couple who lives at the home were walking to their trailer when the fire broke out.
Firefighters said they heard meowing from the inside, so they opened a door, crawled in and retrieved 10-month-old Chevelle, a gray kitten. Another cat is still missing.
Officials did not say how the chicken was rescued.
A deputy who responded was treated on scene for minor smoke inhalation but is now doing alright, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Pictures posted by Orange County Fire Rescue show the majority of the home, including the roof and several of the outside walls, were destroyed.