Family and cats escape housefire

SURVEYING THE DAMAGE:
Rotor, a cat owned by Dan and Susan Ross, checks out the remains of the family’s kitchen and garage destroyed by fire.

A second structure fire in as many months has rocked the lives of Happy Valley community members.

Most recently, early on a recent Saturday morning, Dan and Susan Ross were awakened by the sound of an explosion.

Susan Ross rushed to the kitchen and found the attached garage fully engulfed in flames once she opened the kitchen door. The couple escaped from the home and called the fire department.

Within minutes, members of Happy Valley's all-volunteer fire department began arriving at the scene.

Three engines, a water tender, a patrol vehicle and an air tank trailer were used to fight the fire, along with 14 firefighters. In addition, an engine from Anderson Fire Protection District and a water tender from West Valley Volunteer Fire Department also responded to the alarm on Galloping Way.

Five family cats were in the home when the fire began. Two of them belonged to the couple's daughter, Tracy Lee, a U.S. Marine Corps sergeant with the 82nd Airborne, who was recently deployed to Afghanistan.

Tracy's husband, Bryan Lee, pilots a Black Hawk helicopter there as well.

Firefighters were alerted to look for the pets, but most felt there was little hope the animals had escaped the fire's intense heat.

In the midst of the commotion, however, Rotor, one of Tracy's cats, wandered up to Susan Ross, greeted her, and then leapt back into the house through an open window. Quite obviously to Susan Ross, Rotor in charge of the situation and very likely had led all but one of his fellow felines out through an open window.

The fifth cat was finally located under a bed.

Firefighters, believing the cat to be deceased, notified the family of that sad news.

Howver, when Dan Ross went inside to retrieve the pet, he came out cradling a very much alive Little Tex in his arms.

Dan Ross still wonders whether Little Tex was what prompted Rotor to re-enter the smoke-filled house.

Dan and Susan Ross are currently living in an RV on their property. The couple has a very positive attitude, as was expressed by Dan Ross, who said, "The house burnt up. We didn't. Fire refines the spirit. If we can show others that we can endure because of our faith in our living God, then we hope it will bring Him glory."

Although the flames, smoke and water destroyed the family's garage and kitchen, nearly 65 percent of the structure was saved although it did suffer considerable damage throughout from the smoke.

Meanwhile, the Rosses are adjusting although Susan Ross still finds it difficult to venture into her house.

The cats, however, are not that sensitive to the situation. After all, they have eight lives remaining and they still enjoy curling up on Tracy's bed for a comfortable night's sleep.