I remember that happening and making the national news.  I was in tears when
I saw the furball.  I went and got my furballs at the time and would not let
them go for awhile.

I think that was the one were the fireman was giving a mother cat oxygen
with a couple week old kitten next to her that was shivering.  The
firefighter risked his life going back in when he saw the life alert on the
window that said Mother cat and kitten inside.
http://www.strangezoo.com/content/item/104386.html

I watched this live on TV after the tornadoes went Tenn. last year >  I was
cheering so loud I woke my family up.
http://www.tennessean.com/galleries/2006/news/0408tornado/pages/oo.htm

I had to stop watching shows like that after Katrina.  I have too many
nightmares about what happened there and not being able to do more than I
did.

Everytime I see a rescuer specially a firefighter I remember this

The Creation of the Firefighter
by "Author Unknown"

When the Lord was creating Firefighters, he was into his sixth day of
overtime when an Angel appeared and said, "Your doing a lot of fiddling
around on this one."

And the Lord said "Have you read the specification on this person?
Firefighters have to be able to go for hours fighting fires or tending
to a person that the usual every day person would never touch, while
putting in the back of their mind the circumstances. They have to be
able to move at a second's notice and not think twice of what they are
about to do, no matter what danger. They have to be in top physical
condition at all times, running on half-eaten meals, and they must have
six pairs of hands."

The angel shook her head slowly and said, "Six pairs of hands...no
way."

"It's not the hands that are causing me problems, " said the Lord,
"it's the three pairs of eyes a Firefighter has to have."

That's on the standard model? " asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. " One pair that sees through the fire and where they
and their fellow Firefighters should fight the fire next. Another pair
here in the side of the head to see their fellow Firefighters and keep
them safe. And another pair of eyes in the front so that they can look
for the victims caught in the fire that need their help."

"Lord" said the angel, touching his sleeve, " Rest and work on this
tomorrow."

"I can't, said the Lord, "I already have a model that can carry a 250
pound man down a flight of stairs and to safety from a burning building,
and can feed a family of five on a civil service paycheck."

The angel circled the model of the Firefighter very slowly, "Can it
think?"

"You bet," said the Lord. It can tell you the elements of a hundred
fires; and can recite procedures in their sleep that are needed to care
for a person until they reach the hospital. And all the while they have
to keep their wits about themselves. This Firefighter also has
phenomenal personal control. They can deal with a scene full of pain and
hurt, coaxing a child's mother into letting go of the child so that they
can care for the child in need. And still they rarely get the
recognition for a job well done from anybody, other than from fellow
Firefighters."

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the
Firefighter. "There's a leak", she pronounced. "Lord, it's a tear."

"What's the tear for?" asked the angel.

"It's a tear from bottled-up emotions for fallen comrades. A tear for
commitment to that funny piece of cloth called the flag. It's a tear for
all the pain and suffering they have encountered. And it's a tear for
their commitment to caring for and saving lives of their fellow man!"

"What a wonderful feature Lord, you're a genius" said the angel.

The Lord looked somber and said "I didn't put it there."

and this http://tinypic.com/view/?pic=sll2mh

I remember Scarlet so well.  Being very partial to deep, deep Calicos,
and always holding them in a special place in my heart, I just had to
follow the story to it's very happy ending.  Even now, it's so
difficult for me to look at photos of Scarlet, as she was in the weeks
following the fire.  I truly didn't think that she could survive.
There is one particularly moving photo of her on the web, which shows
her nursing the kittens after they were some weeks older.  In it she's
bandaged, and burned, and can't see.  The tops of her precious little
ears are gone.  Heartbreaking.   But she became a little miracle!!
Whenever she was placed in her new home, I was thrilled to tears.   I
saw her shortly after on television, in her new home with her owner,
and though she might have been a bit disfigured, she was healthy,
could see, and most importantly was a very happy little cat.  Plus,
she was so very, very loved.  I'm bawling now.  I'll probably be
bawling all night.

Grace

Scarlett is my own personal heroine - I've told her story in many posts over
the years (her rescue happened in 1996).

There's a web site devoted to Scarlett, "Scarlett, Cat of the Century".

http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/scarlett.html

This is the poem featured there...

http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/heroine.html

Why is everyone so surprised
that I saved my furry five;
that in spite of pain and danger
I brought them out alive?
True my eyes were barely open
but I heard their frantic wails;
through smoke and flames I saw
scorched ears and burning tails.
Every trip was a burdened choice
but I could make no other.
The rescuers have called me cat...
but I am also "mother."

Author - Rosemary Asmussen

And Scarlett was featured in the book, "Cat Book" by Emily Eve Weinstein.
http://www.patronsaintpr.com/samples/CB/cbobd.htm   Here's a excerpt...

An alleged crack house in an abandoned garage is up in flames. Possibly
arson, probably a careless crackhead with a light. These details are moot
points; what matters to the stray cat that lives there is getting her five
kittens out alive. She makes five trips, each time returning to a structure
that is further engulfed by flames and smoke. Every hair singed off her
body, ears radically burned, eyes melting shut, she will not stop until she
has rescued all five.

Firefighter David Giannelli finds the unconscious cat lying near her
kittens. He carefully gathers the feline family and goes directly to North
Shore Animal League. Word goes around the world about this heroic cat. The
masses pray for her, send cards with best wishes, and 7,000 offers to adopt
her pour in. After a month, the white kitten succumbs to smoke inhalation.
After three months, Scarlett is healed enough to go to a new home. Out of
thousands of potential adoptees, Karen Wellen is selected -- herself the
survivor of a terrible accident. Two pairs of kittens go to the homes of two
other finalists.

Five years later, and I am visiting with the famous cat in her Brooklyn
home. Scarlett is now a solid 16 pounds, with a full, shiny calico coat. The
deep scars on her legs and feet, near hairless face, oddly upturned eyes,
and nubbed ears bear witness to her ordeal. She needs no bribing to pose for
me; she enjoys being around people. Scarlett is a symbol of loyalty,
heroism, and the best stuff life is made of.

Hugs,

CatNipped