Cat Sets House On Fire

A cat is suspected to be the culprit in a house fire in Delafield Monday morning while the pets owners were sleeping.

Fire officials said it didn’t appear that the home had working smoke detectors and it could have been avoided altogether had the cat kept its paws off the stove.

The cat likely turned on the kitchen’s gas stove while the owners were sleeping.

The Delafield Assistant Fire Chief said “We could tell a stove burner had been on, and something that was on top of the stove had lit on fire.”

The National Fire Protection Association estimates 750 home fires per year are started by wild animals or pets.

The assistant chief went on to say if you have pets, keep items that may draw their attention off the stove and keep flammable items off the stove top.

If animals continue to hang around the stove, owners should keep burner knobs removed when not using the stove so pets can’t accidentally turn them on.

None of the occupants or pets in Monday’s fire were injured.