Miracle the Newborn Kitten Found 24 Hours After Indiana Apartment Complex Fire
— -- Miracle, a tabby that apparently survived an Indiana blaze that destroyed an apartment complex, chased 48 families from their homes and killed at least seven other cats, is now living up to his name.
Now 2 weeks old, the feline was discovered at the scene by Capt. Rusty Hall of the Jeffersonville Fire Department, one day after the fire.
"Twenty-four hours later, me and my partner, Rex Caldwell, we went back to look for equipment and, more or less, checking out the building to make sure there was no hidden hot spots," Hall told ABC News. "It just so happened that we looked over and seen something yellow sitting on the ground. I had hollered for Rex and I said, 'Is that what I think it is?'"
After realizing that the kitten was alive, Hall and Caldwell brought him back to a fire truck.
"They named him Miracle, because it is," Hall said. "It's a miracle he survived through the heavy smoke and surviving for 24 hours without food or water.
"It was something you just don’t see every day," he said. "It was really amazing and it was like I was put in the right place and the right time to find this kitten."
Sarah Green, director at the J.B Ogle Animal Shelter, where Miracle now is being cared for, said seven cats -- including two adult cats found in the same apartment unit as Miracle -- were killed in the fire, and about four other cats remain missing.
"He's actually doing pretty well," Green said. "Cats that young without a mother already have the deck stacked against them."
Green believes that she may have spoken to Miracle's owner at the scene, but added she has been unsuccessful in attempting to contact her.
"If she'll be in a place where she can take the cat, I'd like to reunite him," Green said. "If not, the firefighter at the scene wants to adopt him so either way, he has a place to go."
The fire took place on the afternoon of April 16, said Jeffersonville Fire Chief Eric Hedrick. He added that the incident left one person injured and 48 families homeless.
The official cause of the fire is under investigation.
