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The Duluth Fire Department was dispatched to a house fire at 30 E 9th St at 0601 hours this morning.  This fire came in while fire crews were already fighting a fully involved fire on West 3rd St.  Some rigs were able to respond from the first fire due to the defensive nature of that operation.  Other apparatus responded from the outer areas of the city to assist.

Upon arrival, 1 Engine reported smoke coming from the windows and eaves of the two story private home.  There was one male occupant outside the house who self-evacuated from the basement level, but a female inside the basement level garage could not get the overhead door open.  She broke out a window pane and yelled for help.  A firefighter and two bystanders pried the garage door open and got her out to safety.  Firefighters also witnessed a male occupant jump from a second story window down onto the first floor deck at the rear of the building.  This occupant got minor burns due to his bedroom window being directly above the window of the fire area. 

Evacuated residents told 1E personnel that everyone was out but soon a police officer at the front of the building spotted a woman waving for help from a second story window.  There was heavy smoke billowing out  the window she was hanging from.

1 Engine personnell entered the building and knocked down the main body of the fire before heading upstairs to the bedrooms to assist the woman with escape.  They found her out on the porch roof.  She told them that there were two kids inside on the second floor so they re-entered the building to search for them.  4 Quint personnel placed a ladder up onto the porch roof and assisted the woman down to the ground level.  She was covered in soot and suffered from smoke inhalation and burns.  She was brought to a waiting ambulance and taken to the hospital for treatment.  It was later determined that it was two kittens that the woman was worried about.

Occupants also informed firefighters there were four cats inside the house.  A search was conducted and all four animals were rescued.  Two of the cats suffered from smoke inhalation, but oxygen was delivered to them by firefighters.  They seemed to be doing fine by the time the occupants took them away from the scene.

The damage to the house was extensive.  The main body of the fire destroyed the kitchen and most of the main floor of the home.  Heat traveled up the stairway and cause moderate damage to the second floor.  Closed doors on the bedrooms kept the fire from these areas and also held back the fire to allow occupants to escape out the windows.  Damage estimates are $60,000 for the building and $30,000 for the contents.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.  One firefighter recieved minor injuries when he was cut by window glass while fighting the fire.  He was treated at the emergency room and remains on duty.