Buena Park firefighters save kitten trapped inside of SUV

An Orange County Fire Authority crew found themselves in a precarious spot while carrying out a very delicate search and rescue mission in Buena Park. 

"The doorbell rang and the lady at the door said, 'Hey I think there's a cat stuck in my car,'" said Scott Lake, an OCFA fire apparatus engineer. "We all kind of like gave her that confused look."

Lake and the others on duty at Station 61 last week had the woman drive her SUV into one of the truck bays for a closer look. Sure enough, a tiny gray kitten had wedged itself under the car near the fuel tank. It had been on a long, hot ride. 

"I've never saved a cat out of a tree but now I can say I've pulled a cat out from underneath a car," said Division Chief Steve Dohman.

The woman driving the car said rode in the SUV's undercarriage while it was cruising down the I-405 Freeway and then hid under there for hours as she and her family went to a museum.

When she got back to Buena Park she heard meowing and went straight to Station 61. 

There, firefighters got to work, lifting the car up, removing the plastic pieces in the undercarriage and following the sounds until they found the kitten's little face peeking through. 

Since being rescued, the kitten, Smokey, has been adopted by the chief's secretary. 

"For that cat to be in that car for that amount of time and to be that young to make it all the way, to stay up in that car all day long and survive underneath," said Lake. "To make it all the way to the fire station... and to be adopted by on of our own here at the fire station is great."