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The feline trio were the only ones home when the three-alarm blaze ignited at the front of the nearly 100-year-old wood-frame house on 5th Street off Morlot Avenue shortly before 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24.
Fair Lawn native Nick Cornwell and his wife, Ashley, also lost all of their belongings.
“We encountered heavy fire upon our arrival," Fair Lawn Fire Department Assistant Chief Ralph Rinaldo said. "The members did a great job knocking the fire down using deck guns before entering the building.
“We mounted a very aggressive attack," the assistant chief said, "but unfortunately due to the fast-moving fire we were unable to save the cats.”
There were water issues at one point, but firefighters still got the blaze knocked down within an hour. Overhaul operations continued and all remaining companies were cleared from the scene by 5 p.m.
No injuries were reported.
Mutual aid responders included firefighters from Saddle Brook and Elmwood Park at the scene, with their colleagues Garfield, Glen Rock, Hawthorne and Paramus providing coverage.
The American Red Cross was among the responders, as were a PSE&G crew that tended to the downed utility wires, the borough's Office of Emergency Management, the Fair Lawn Volunteer Ambulance Corps and a local animal control officer.
A building official was summoned to determine whether to condemn the building, responders said.
Fair Lawn's Fire Prevention Bureau is investigating the cause.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe campaign was launched to help the couple begin recovering: Help the Cornwell Family after House Fire
Damien Danis took most of the photos and contributed to this report.
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