Three occupants of a house in Burlington managed to escape a large fire early Sunday morning, but two cats were not so lucky.
The Burlington Fire Department responded to the incident at 5207 Verhoeven Road, in the Lakeshore Road and Appleby Line area, shortly before 5 a.m. Sunday morning.
The residents were awakened by a smoke alarm in the hallway outside their basement bedrooms. Flames blocked their front door exit, but they managed to escape through a basement window, fire officials say.
Two cats were killed by smoke inhalation, but there were no other injuries.
Fire officials say they were quickly able to bring the fire under control, but estimate it caused $350,000 of damage.
They believe the fire began in the garage of the home, but the cause is still under investigation.
