Firefighters were running out of a building on fire holding puppies and cats in their hands while other crews fought the blaze in a pet store, north of Brisbane on Sunday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
About 50 animals were rescued after the fire broke out at the store on Russell Street in the Moreton Bay region suburb of Kallangur about 3.30am.
Five trucks and appliances were on site to control the blaze while a rescue operation was put into operation to rescue the animals trapped inside.
Petrie Fire Station officer Darren Phease said that, on arrival, he could see the flames and a significant amount of smoke coming from the rear of the building.
"Initially we made an attack on the fire to break in and drop down the smoke as much as we could because animals don't do well with smoke inhalation so we were concerned those pets could be significantly hurt," he said.
"There were some losses, quite a few birds that didn't make it, sadly, but fortunately there were no human losses. No one was in the building at the time."
Mr Phease said this was not his first animal rescue in his 20 or so years of experience but he was pleased animals, including fish, dogs, cats and reptiles, were rescued in time.
"We set up pens outside so the animals wouldn't go wandering and now the owner is here checking on them to see if they're all okay," he said.
"I'd say the rescue was pretty successful because crews did everything they could to save as many animals they could."
The fire was under control by 4.17am.
Police remained on the scene to investigate the fire.
