Clark County firefighters said a large African cat bit a firefighter helping to extinguish a blaze Sunday at a home in the Felida neighborhood, north of Vancouver.
Clark County Fire District 6 officials said a fire broke out at the back of single-story home Sunday, then spread to the home’s attic. The homeowner was trying to douse the flames as firefighters arrived.
Firefighters got the fire under control within 25 minutes, but at least one encountered the serval, a savannah wild cat native to Sub-Saharan Africa, and suffered a minor injury from a bite to the fingers.
Officials estimated the cat weighed 60 to 70 pounds, though the cats typically only weigh up to 40 pounds in the wild.
With the fire out, the firefighters decided to close up the house with the cat inside until the homeowner and animal control officers could contain it. It was later captured safely.
Fire district officials said the serval was “unharmed, just a little freaked out.”
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