2 seriously wounded people rescued, 3 cats dead after fire at North Hollywood home

Firefighters rescued two seriously wounded people from a burning home in North Hollywood early Wednesday morning while the blaze left three cats dead and a dog unresponsive before being resuscitated by first responders.

Two men who managed to escape the fire told firefighters when they arrived that there were still another two people trapped inside the home, according to the Los Angeles Fire Department. Firefighters went in and saved the two victims, an 50-year-old woman left in grave condition and an 83-year-old man who is in serious condition, LAFD said.

"They were alerted by smoke alarms," LAFD Captain Cody Weireter said of the two who fled, an 80-year-old man and 35-year-old man. "Now, the unfortunate part, obviously, we transported two patients here on site. However, we could've had four and it could've been a lot worse. It's proven — smoke alarms save lives."

The blaze at the two-story house in the 11000 block of West Sarah Street was reported at about 2:30 a.m., according to LAFD. Within 30 minutes, fire officials say, 57 firefighters had fully extinguished heavy flames which were mostly in the rear of the home.

Paramedics rushed the wounded victims to a hospital by ambulance, LAFD said. They also rescued a dog, reviving the animal after pulling them out of the burning home, LAFD said. However, they were unable to resuscitate cats also discovered inside. 

"Though the three pet felines sadly proved beyond medical help and were determined dead at the scene, firefighters were able to resuscitate and are providing supportive care to the rescued canine," LAFD said in an alert.

Volunteers with the American Red Cross Disaster Action Team were also dispatched to the scene to help assisting the victims with finding housing as the home had been so heavily damaged that it was red-tagged.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation and no other information has been released by LAFD.