7-year-old boy wakes up dad, pair escapes house fire 

Authorities in Orange County, California say a 7-year-old boy didn’t hesitate when he smelled smoke at his home, waking up his sleeping father so the pair could escape a spreading fire.

According to The Orange County Register, the boy was getting ready for bed one Saturday night when he smelled smoke and saw that the garage of his Costa Mesa home was engulfed in flames.

Fire Capt. Chris Coates says the boy ran to wake his father, who had fallen asleep watching television. The two ran out of the house as the fire spread from the garage to a motorhome in the driveway and then to a neighbor’s storage shed.

Firefighters stopped the flames before they spread to the main living area of the house. The cause is under investigation.


Couple credits their cat with alerting them to fire in Vegas-area home

A Las Vegas-area couple is crediting their alert and persistent cat with alerting them to a fire in their home.

KTNV-TV in Las Vegas reports that a fire broke out at a home in the Summerlin community around 2 a.m. one Sunday.

The husband and wife told fire officials they were asleep when they got woken up by the cat noisily scratching kitchen cabinets.

The husband says he went to check on the cat and found a fire in the garage.

They immediately called 911 and evacuated the home, along with a nephew they were babysitting and the cat.

Firefighters say no injuries were reported.

The damage to the home was confined to the garage.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.