Fire burns through Clayton home, kills family's cat

A family of three lost its home in a fire Monday evening, and at least one of the family's cats died in the blaze, officials said.

The parents and their 9-year-old son were away when several neighbors saw flames coming from the one-story Kildaire Court house and called 911 shortly before 6 p.m., Clayton spokeswoman Stacy Beard said.

Firefighters said the blaze appeared to have begun on the rear of the house and went into the roof before spreading. The town fire marshal is investigating the cause, Beard said.

Three fire departments sent crews to the scene, Beard said.

Beard said firefighters found one cat that had been overcome by smoke and died. A second cat was missing, she said.

The American Red Cross helped the family find a place to stay, Beard said.

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 7:41 AM with the headline "Fire burns through Clayton home, kills family's cat."