A basement fire at a St. Thomas home early Monday left a cat dead but resulted in no reported injuries to the occupants or responding firefighters.
St. Thomas Fire Services were called to a First Avenue residence around 6 a.m. after a tenant contacted 911 to report flames inside the home. Another tenant was away when the fire began and returned to the property as emergency crews responded.
Firefighters arriving at the scene encountered smoke coming from the back of the house. They located the fire in the basement and managed to stop it from spreading to the upper portions of the residence.
The firefighting response prompted authorities to temporarily close First Avenue between Chestnut and Locust streets while crews worked at the scene. One cat was found deceased following the fire. No other injuries were reported.
Investigators are now working to establish what caused the blaze. Police and fire investigators remained at the property Monday to examine the scene and determine where and how the fire started.