FAMILY PETS SAVED — Ladysmith firefighters use a portable fan to clear smoke from a faulty wood stove out of a home. No one was home at the time, but quick-thinking action by a pair of utility workers alerted firefighters and probably saved the lives of three dogs and two cats.

Utility workers hear alarm, save family pets from smoky home

Luke Klink

A smoke detector alarm was blaring inside a Ladysmith home last Wednesday, and utility workers couldn’t get anyone to come to the door.

“I opened the window and hollered, ‘Get the animals out,” neighbor Judy Scheurer said.

WE Energies utility workers Jim Stiner and Brad Kell were making a service call at the home owned by Christina Davila at 719 W. Cleveland Ave. When no one answered the door, the quick-thinking utility workers peeked inside.

“We could hear the smoke alarm blaring and you could smell smoke really strong,” Stiner said. “The whole house was full of smoke.”

Stiner and Kell called 9-1-1. They searched the home and found no one was home. They rescued a cat named “Sasuke” and dogs named “Chewy,” “Snowball” and “Skitz.” The animals kept trying to run back into the house, until Scheurer brought them to her house across the street.

Scheurer told Stiner and Kell the family had two cats, so one was still missing.

“I am surprised they were able to catch them because the dogs and cats must have been scared to death,” Scheurer said.

The Ladysmith Fire Department, Ladysmith Police and Rusk County Ambulance responded. Firefighters eventually found “Sonny” the cat hiding in a bedroom as thick smoke continued to fill the house.

Portable fans were set up at the front and back doors.

Poor venting and a loose door on a basement wood stove caused smoke to enter the home, according to Stiner.

“We saved the house probably,” Stiner said. “There was a lot of smoke in there and I don’t know if the pets would have made it.”

The family arrived soon after firefighters arrived at the scene.