Founder dies in Long Island animal sanctuary fire; 100s of cats on site
Fire destroys Long Island cat shelter
A fire tore through a well-known Long Island animal sanctuary, killing founder Chris Arsenault and as many as 100 rescued cats. The blaze broke out early Monday morning at the Happy Cat Sanctuary in Medford, a nonprofit Arsenault started in 2006 after the loss of his son. Jodi Goldberg was at the scene with the latest on the investigation and the growing community effort to carry on Arsenault’s mission.
LONG ISLAND - A fire broke out at an animal sanctuary housing hundreds of cats on Long Island, leaving the founder of the nonprofit dead.
What we know:
According to police, the fire happened on Monday around 7 a.m. at a house on Dourland Road in Medford.
Chris Arsenault was the founder of the nonprofit called Happy Cat Sanctuary. He would take in cats as many as 300, who were there living with him.
FOX 5 NY is told Arsenault did everything he could to try to save the cats. We’re also told the cats had access to the outdoors and hopefully were able to get outside.
What they're saying:
Volunteers who work with Arsenault tell FOX 5 NY that neighbors heard an explosion outside – possibly a heater or propane tank – and it was Arsenault who was killed.
"From what I understand, the neighbor said that there was an explosion, and we think it might have had a heater outside next to a propane tank or a propane tank might have gone off," one volunteer said. "He woke up, and he was trying to put the fire out, and he kept going back in and out of the house to get cats out, and then he went in, and he didn't come out."
Over a dozen volunteers were out with cat carriers and other supplies trying to do whatever it takes to save any cats that were still alive inside.
Arsenault was planning to move upstate and close to 100 cats were already moved there.
What we don't know:
Investigators are trying to piece together exactly what happened, but the county police do not suspect arson.