The sound of breaking glass and the smell of smoke woke a Hillsboro couple early Tuesday morning and they evacuated through the window of their 2nd floor bedroom as fire and smoke filled rooms downstairs.
Just after 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, HIllsboro Fire Station 2 responded to a residential fire on the 3000 block of SE Tumblestone Dr. Firefighters on Engine 2 arrived to find the homeowners safely outside. As they made their way around the back of the house fire and smoke were venting out of broken windows on the main floor.
A few minutes later Truck 5 arrived to find black smoke venting from the main level and the eves of the 2nd story.
Firefighters entered through the back, quickly extinguished the flames and began clearing the smoke as they searched the home for the family’s dog and three cats.
The family’s dog and one of their cats was found deceased. One cat was found alive and one cat is still unaccounted for.
Twenty firefighters responded to the fire. No injuries were reported. A fire investigator is working to determine the cause of the fire. It was determined that there were no working smoke alarms in the home.