Woman, 2 Cats Rescued From Aspinwall Ave Fire In Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — Saturday afternoon Brookline Firefighters saved an elderly woman and her two cats from a burning apartment building on Aspinwall Avenue.

The two alarm fire at 252 Aspinwall Avenue happened just after noon on Oct.14 and within the hour the woman and two cats were out of the apartment building and the fire was knocked down. Fallon Ambulance workers gave air to the littlest feline victims using a special mask (a non-rebreather mask for those taking notes at home) and the kitties were transported to the animal hospital while the woman was taken to the hospital, according to police.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Brookline Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

There was a bit of confusion at one point, with some chatter over the police and fire scanners indicating the spot may be a drug lab. But police squelched that out over twitter, tweeted out "confirmed it was not a drug lab as may have been heard over scanners."

No word on the condition of the woman or the cats.

A three family apartment building built in 1920 near the corner of Netherlands Road, just a block from the Emerald Necklace. The entire building is owned by one person and was assessed at $1,690,500 for 2017. It's unclear what kind of damage the fire had on the building, though photos show at least one apartment appears to be completely gutted.

(For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Brookline Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Photos courtesy Fallon Ambulance Service (first two) and Brookline Fire Department (second two)