Hero kitten dies trying to save family from fire after pawing girl's face to wake her up

Little Sage, aged just ten-months-old, had only been living with her adoptive family for a month when she reacted to a house fire by pawing at ten-year-old Kassidee's face until she woke up

Charles Wade-Palmer Chief News Reporter

23:46, 29 Jan 2021Updated 23:54, 29 Jan 2021

Sage woke Kassidee Gallaway after a fire had broken out in the family home

A life-saving kitten alerted its family to a house fire to save them from a terrifying inferno before dying in the blaze.

Kassidee Gallaway, ten, from Crystal, North Dakota says her family's ten-month-old kitten, Sage pawed her face until she woke up on the night of January 20.

Kassidee explained that she quickly realised why Sage was so keen to wake her up, as her senses became overwhelmed by the blaze which had broken out inside the house.

Thanks to the feline fire alarm, Kassidee dashed to wake the rest of her family in the flaming emergency, Metro reports.

She said: "It smelled like burnt pizza. It was really hot in my room. I couldnt breathe and I went out to get my breath."

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Sage died in the fire which totally destroyed the family home

Mum, dad, Kassidee and her brother all made it out of the house safely but heartbreakingly, the family member who sprang the rest into action, was not so lucky.

Sage was lost in their haste to exit the home and killed by the fire which totally destroyed the familys home.

Kassidees dad Cody Saiger expressed how proud he was of both his daughter and late, he said: "I don't think any of us would be here," if they had not been woken up in time.

He also revealed Kassidee's incredibly responsible actions in reacting to the fire by waiting until everyone was at the front door before opening it.

She had previously read that by opening a door, oxygen flood in and fuel a fire further.

It was not until the family had made it out, when the inferno intensified and blew out the windows and sent the roof crashing down, InForum reported.

Firefighters from the Hoople Fire Department gave the family a special helmet, to honour Sage, who had been adopted just a month before her death.

A card accompanying the helmet read: "She was truly one of us by getting you and your family out in time. Never forget your furry friend and our hero Sage."

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An investigation into what caused the fire continues, with Kassidee and her family now slowly trying to rebuild their lives.

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