Man escapes fire after cat’s wake-up call

A Westport man could have died if his cat had not woken him when his house caught fire.

The man was sleeping in his Peel St home when it caught fire about 12.10am yesterday.

Westport Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Pat O’Dea said the middle-aged man was woken by his cat and managed to escape through a front-bedroom window.

‘‘Unfortunately, the cat didn’t make the grade,’’ he said.

The fire started in the back part of the house, which was now ‘‘well and truly in a demolishable state’’.

Flames were shooting above the roof by the time firefighters arrived, O’Dea said.

The blaze was put out quickly. A small amount of live ammunition was also found in the front of the house, but the fire had not reached that area, O’Dea said.

The man had been drying kindling above a coal range, and it was believed the fire started when the wood fell on to the stove.

The house was not insured and no smoke alarms were installed.

‘‘The only message I will keep on saying is for God’s sake, put in smoke alarms,’’ O’Dea said.

‘‘If the cat hadn’t woken him, he might have ended up with the cat.’’

Meanwhile, a fire that badly damaged a Christchurch flat is believed to be suspicious.

Firefighters were called to a house fire in Leyden St, Phillipstown, about 1.30am yesterday.

The fire began in one of three adjoining flats on the property, but the other two flats were not damaged.

Police were investigating.