When Huntington Manor firefighters rushed into the burning home at 1 Sandra Ct. in Huntington Station, they found a near-lifeless cat lying atop a central staircase.

Franklin, a black-and-white kitty with bright green eyes, had inhaled enough smoke from the Saturday night fire that he'd stopped breathing, Lt. John Damico said Sunday.

"The cat was pretty much unconscious," Damico said. "It wasn't looking good."

So firefighters carried Franklin outside and placed him on the hood of a Jeep Cherokee parked in the driveway, where they took turns giving him chest compressions. The cat began breathing again after two minutes, and after 10 minutes he was strong enough to be moved inside a nearby ambulance, where Damico gave him oxygen through a special pet-shaped oxygen mask.

"Usually you use the infant ones on pets, but they don't have as a good feel," Damico said. "We just got these from an animal shelter and they work much better."

Franklin's owner, Betty Ann Jacobsen, who was at a neighbor's house when firefighters arrived, was taken to Huntington Hospital with facial burns, said First Assistant Chief Gary Hatton. She couldn't be reached for comment Sunday.

Hatton said the fire severely damaged the basement, where it began, and there was smoke damage to the rest of the three-story house. The fire is not believed to be suspicious and no cause had been determined Sunday.

Damico, whose mother is a veterinarian, took Franklin home to care for him through the night until Jacobsen can reclaim him. Besides a sooty nose and some shell shock from the fire and being moved to a strange home, Damico said, Franklin seems to be happy.

"What high spirits he's in," Damico said. "He just needs a little bath."

McClatchy-Tribune News Service