Firefighters save 3 dogs, 2 cats in West Islip house blaze

Firefighters rescued three dogs and a couple of cats from a house fire in West Islip on Sunday.

No one was home when the fire broke out, said West Islip Fire Department Chief Michael Cooper, who was one of the 75 firefighters that responded to the 1:46 p.m. call on Hunter Avenue.

"The second floor was on fire," Cooper said. "The firefighters made a push with the hose line, and they were knocking the fire down and pulling the dogs out at the same time."

It took the first responders 20 minutes to control the fire, he said. The cause is to be determined.

The cats were not injured, and the dogs were taken to the Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island on Sunrise Highway, the chief said.

Cooper said two of the dogs appeared to be severely injured while the third looked to be in stable condition.

The West Islip animal hospital didn’t respond to a request for comment on the dogs’ condition Sunday.