Dog Rescued, Cat Missing After Lawrenceville Fire

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA -- Firefighters rescued the family dog from a fire at a Lawrenceville home on Thursday, while the cat appears to have gone missing.

Gwinnett County firefighters arrived at the home, on the 725 block of Kimbrooke Trail in unincorporated Lawrenceville, at 10:11 a.m. Thursday to find smoke billowing from a two-story wood home and the family all safely outside in the front yard.

They entered to find heavy smoke on the second floor and a fire burning in the corner of the family’s living room.

Firefighters were able to bring the blaze under control by 10:36 a.m.

The family, two adults and two children, were asleep when the fire started and alerted to it by a fire alarm and the sound of glass breaking, according to a Gwinnett Fire and Emergency Services news release.

The fire appears to be accidental and to have started around some incense left burning in a religious shrine in the corner of the family’s living room.

When firefighters arrived, the family told them a dog and a cat were inside. Firefighters rescued a small dog from inside the smoke-filled house, but couldn’t find the cat -- which is believed to have conducted its own escape earlier.

(PHOTO: Gwinnett County firefighter Justin Petty carries the family dog to its owners. Courtesy Gwinnett County Fire & Emergency Services)