Cat and tortoises saved from house fire, iguana and frogs didn’t make it

MANCHESTER -- First-responders were able to save a cat and two tortoises from a house fire Friday, but two frogs and an iguana perished in the blaze.

The home itself was deemed uninhabitable, and the residents were relocated with family, Manchester police said. No humans were hurt in the incident.

Manchester police said they got a call at 9:33 a.m. for the fire on Ridgeway Road. Officers found heavy smoke coming from the roof, and confirmed no people were inside, police said.

Firefighters from the Manchester, Ridgeway, Whiting, Lakehurst, and Toms River fire departments as well as Joint Base Fire Department Station 67 responded to the scene and extinguished the fire, police said.

The cat was administered oxygen at the scene by members of the Joint Base Fire Department Station 67, and then transported to a veterinarian for treatment by the owner, police said. EMTs from Quality Medical Transport also responded.

Police said the fire was found to be accidental in nature, and that investigators have been unable to rule out the possibility it was caused by a problem with electrically charged cooking appliances.

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