Fire Destroys Animal Shelter

An outpouring of support this morning after a tragic fire at the Safe Harbor Animal Shelter.  The fire broke out early this morning at the shelter in the Sea Grape Plaza in Jupiter.  Jupiter Police were the first to arrive at the fire, and used their batons to break the windows and start rescuing the animals.  Jupiter Police Department spokesman Sgt. Scott Pascarella says "it's a corageous effort on our part, from our officers to enter a burning building, we're not ...trained to enter burning buildings."

When fire fighters arrived, they formed a chain to rescue the pets inside, one by one.  They were able to rescue 38 animals, but 14 cats died.

Investigators are still looking for the cause of the fire.  "We understand that there was some electrical work being done and the fire investigator is going to zero in on that to see if that was the cause.  But when you have this much damage, it really takes a lot of work and a lot of expertise to figure out what happened," said Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue spokesman Capt. Don Delucia.

The shelter owner Kay-Lynette Roca is thankful for the rescue efforts, "thank god the alarm went off and someone was there. I mean I can't thank the Jupiter police and fire department enough."

The damage caused by the fire was contained to the front of the building, and fire investigators say if they collect enough money, they could remodel and be up and running in the very near future. 

The shelter is asking for blankets, animal food and any cash donations to help out with this disaster. If you would like to help you can call: 747-5311, or donate online by clicking on the link to the upper right under "related stories".