Firefighters Go to Great Heights to Rescue Cat

Video shows cat rescue in Montclair

Four firefighters with the Prince William Department of Fire & Rescue went out of their way to make sure that a Woodbridge resident’s family cat was returned safely.

The cat, referred to by the firefighters as “Kitty”, had gotten stuck in a tree over 89 feet late last week in the area of Tallowwood Drive and Spring Branch Blvd. in Montclair.

“We received a phone call from our Battalion Chief — he asked us to check out an incident. Station 17 in Montclair had gotten a phone call requesting assistance – that their pet cat was stuck in a tree,”

said Lieutenant Dave Caruana, one of the firefighters at the scene.

 Technicians Adam Mowry, Shawn Riley, Shawn Bliss and Lt. Caruana were called out to the scene when Station 17 was unable to retrieve the cat.

“Engine 17 headed over there to check the incident out, to see if they could handle it and the cat was in the tree further than their ground ladders could reach,” Caruana said.

The four men quickly responded to the call, and were able to safely remove the cat from the tree, returning it to its owner.

“We arrived onscene and our driver, Shawn Riley, positioned the [ladder] appropriately…and we retrieved the cat out of the tree,” said Caruana.

Jennifer Leigh Titus, a witness who was present and filmed the rescue, feels grateful to have such dedicated firefighters on call in her neighborhood.

“They were pretty awesome, the first truck came and the ladder was too short and then they called in the big guns. That cat would have either fallen or froze to death. They didn’t have to [trek] out in that freezing weather to save a cat, but they did. That makes me feel really safe knowing that they would go through so much for a kitten, imagine what they would do for us,” said Titus.