Firefighters from East Pierce Fire and Rescue, Buckley and Enumclaw responded to a house fire Sunday afternoon in the 11800 block of 243rd Avenue Court East.
When firefighters arrived, they reported flames visible from two of the bedroom windows with smoke billowing from the eaves.
A neighbor, Robert Scott, who had been outside working on his car, was the first to notice the fire and call 9-1-1.
“I saw flames in the window and I went to bang on the door,” Scott said.
A teenage boy was home alone when the fire started in his parent's bedroom. The boy escaped without injury, but the family's cats were trapped in the burning structure.
The fire was quickly doused and one by one, firefighters brought the three cats out of the house to the waiting arms of their grateful owners. One of the cats suffered smoke inhalation and was treated at the scene. A fourth cat is still missing.
East Pierce Fire Chief Dan Packer estimated one-fourth of the home sustained direct fire damage and roughly half of the house suffered smoke and heat damage.
The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze that started in the master bedroom of the single-story home.
