by Cam Lucadou-Wells
A family and their cats have made a miraculous escape from a fiercely-destructive house fire in Dandenong.
Single dad Dwayne Arisc was sipping coffee and his son was in the shower when they were confronted with a fast-spreading blaze in one of the bedrooms on the morning of Friday 24 May.
“He jumped out of the shower and yelled out to me, and as soon as I saw what was happening I put my arms around him and we ran,” Mr Arisc said.
“The house went up so quick. The pressure, the panic, the intensity of the smoke was so intense, there wasn’t time to think or act.”
Despite the efforts of firefighters, their Hammond Road home and all their possessions were destroyed.
And to compound their great distress, they were unable to find beloved cats Boo and the aptly-named Smokey who they’d raised as stray kittens.
But the next day, the cats figuratively rose from the ashes.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mr Arisc said. “The ceiling had collapsed on top of Boo, and he was underneath it in the sink, badly burned but still alive.
“When I lifted the rubble away he let out a little meow as if saying ‘Daddy I’m hurt’.
“His paws, ears and whiskers were all burned.”
Meanwhile Smokey was hiding under the bonnet of Mr Arisc’s car.
“The little fellahs deserved to live, so we took them straight to the vet.”
A South-East based charity Pets Of the Homeless has stepped in to help with the $6000 vet bills to treat Smokey for smoke inhalation and Boo for his severe burns.
The charity’s CEO Yvonne Hong said the pair face a long road for recovery.
“For emergency treatment, Pets Of The Homeless is able to contribute up to $1000, but we now need the help of our wonderful community to cover the remaining costs.”
To make a tax-deductible donation, go to petsofthehomeless.org.au/donate
