Several cats died in a large fire when one of them knocked over a lit candle in a Pleasant Ridge duplex overnight, displacing six residents, Cincinnati fire officials.
It’s not clear yet how many cats out of a total of 13 in the duplex were killed, they said early Thursday.
All six residents escaped when flames broke out inside the residence on Lawndale Avenue about midnight, along with some cats and two dogs.
The status of a pet snake is unknown.
All occupants were out when fire crews arrived, but the fire spread from the second to the third floors and was in the walls and small spaces, making it tough to fight, firefighters said.
Fire officials sounded a second alarm to bring more manpower and equipment.
They also struggled to squeeze their large fire trucks on the narrow avenue with on-street parking and said overhead wires prevented them from using ladder trucks to reach the roof.