Cat on fire starts NY apt blaze, 2 people critical

Two people were fighting for life after a cat caught fire and ran around, unwittingly helping to ignite an apartment here, officials and neighbours said.

Angel Alcazar, the owner of six cats, was cooking pork chops inside his apartment on Gouverneur Avenue in Bronx when a grease fire broke out, neighbours said. As Alcazar tried to put out the blaze, at least one of his felines got too close and caught fire, they said. The torched cat then ran around the home, setting everything it touched on fire, New York Daily News reported on the fire that occurred on Friday evening.

The fire quickly began consuming both the third and fourth floors of the building, which has 67 apartments, officials said. Five of the cats, including the one that was burned, are believed to have died. Eleven residents were hospitalised and about a dozen were displaced.