Boy, 12, arrested on suspicion of arson after house fire that left kitten fighting for life

A 12-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of arson and criminal damage after a house fire that left a kitten fighting for its life.

Emergency services were called to the property on Stepping Stones in Stourbridge in the early hours of Friday morning.

A woman and a boy escaped the house before emergency service crews arrived on the scene.

A young kitten, called Tiger, was rescued from the building by firefighters, who saved its life by putting an oxygen mask over its face.

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Stourbridge Fire Station tweeted images of the kitten sitting on a firefighters lap while it was administered oxygen, adding they responded to the call in under four minutes.

The boy was detained at the scene before being released while officers investigate the cause of the fire.

They added: "All occupants safe and a poorly ‘Tiger’ the kitten was rescued and given Oxygen #9lives"

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: "We are investigating after being alerted to a fire at a home in Stepping Stones, Stourbridge at just after 3.50am on Friday.

"Thankfully no one was injured and we are working with the fire service to establish the exact circumstances of the fire.

"A 12-year-old boy, who was detained at the scene, has since been released as our enquiries continue."

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A West Midlands Fire Service spokesperson said: "At 3.49am on Friday 27 August three fire engines and 15 firefighters responded to a house fire in Stepping Stones, Stambermill, Stourbridge.

"We were there in less than four minutes. A woman and a boy had got themselves out of the property before we arrived.

"The fire was contained to the first-floor bedroom in which it started. It was extinguished by firefighters wearing breathing apparatus and using hose reel jets.

"They also rescued a cat from the property and gave it oxygen using one of the specialist pet masks we carry on our fire engines.

"The police and ambulance service also attended."

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman added: “We sent one ambulance and a paramedic officer to the scene.

"Crews assessed two patients and they were discharged at the scene.”

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