Crime & Safety

Thursday House Fire Killed One Cat

Firefighters tried to resuscitate the cat but were not successful.

A two-alarm fire at a home on Laguna Drive on Thursday killed a cat. No people were home when the blaze broke out and no firefighters were injured.

The fire in the 3700 block of Laguna Drive was reported at 12:42 p.m. Seven fire units were dispatched to fight the blaze.

The Palo Alto Fire Department issued this statement regarding the fire:

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“The resident of the rear house was not at home, but a cat was found unresponsive inside. Medic 2 attempted resuscitation using the Air for Paws masks that all Palo Alto Fire apparatus carry. They were unsuccessful.”

Firefighters quickly determined the source of the fire to be “linseed soaked rags that were placed in a closet trash can....Linseed oil is regularly used for protecting wood products from drying, but it has also been the cause of several fires. Linseed oil on rags will spontaneous combust when thrown away as normal trash. It is important that linseed soaked rags are disposed of outside the house and in a metal container.”

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