Dramatic Rescue: Watch Firefighters Revive 4 Cats Suffering From Smoke Inhalation In RivCo House Fire

JURUPA VALLEY, CA — Four cats were returned to their owners, alive and purring, this week after Cal Fire/Riverside County Firefighters and a Sheriff's Deputy fought for their lives.

On Monday, firefighters raced to the 3000 block of Emma Street in Jurupa Valley, where a single-story multi-unit residential structure caught fire.

Search crews found four cats inside the burning apartment.

"Three of them were unconscious and not breathing inside a fire-damaged apartment," a spokesperson for Cal Fire said.

The Cal Fire firefighters and a Riverside County Sheriff's Deputy used every tool in their CPR arsenal, from rescue breathing to pet-sized oxygen masks and even a defibrillator, according to video shared from the scene.

"Additional crews and a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy jumped in to help," they said.

The firefighters brought out oxygen tanks and masks designed to provide rescue breathing for animals, as they worked on resuscitating the felines.

In the video below, firefighters and the deputy worked to revive the cats, giving rescue breaths and oxygen, and rousing them to alertness.

"If he takes a breath, he gets 100% oxygen," one firefighter says.

"After several tense minutes, the cats began to regain consciousness and were soon up and walking around," they said.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@calfirerru)

Red Cross and Animal Control were both called to the scene to aid people and the animals. Firefighters returned all of the felines to their grateful owners, a Cal Fire spokesperson told Patch.

A total of 14 adults needed Red Cross assistance, displaced from their homes in this incident.