South Carolina

Instagram-famous cat fell into a storm drain. His ‘family’ went all in to get him out

A screenshot of an Instagram post showing Belmont Fire Department responders rescuing their own station cat, Flame, from a storm drain.
A screenshot of an Instagram post showing Belmont Fire Department responders rescuing their own station cat, Flame, from a storm drain. INSTAGRAM

A famous Instagram feline found himself in trouble after falling into a storm drain Wednesday night.

Luckily for Flame “the Arson Cat,” the incident took place at his Greenville, S.C. home – and his immediate family is no stranger to cat rescues.

“Last night the on shift crew realized that flame did not show up for dinner time so they set out to look for him,” the Belmont Fire Department wrote on Flame’s Instagram, which has more than 100,000 followers.

“It was quickly discovered that flame had ended up in the departments storm drain, we suspect the pouring rain may have caused him to lose his footing and fall in.”

The 12-inch drain runs 50 feet below the parking lot at the fire department, The Greenville News reported.

With rainy weather and temperatures in the 30s, off-duty firefighters – even the chief – got out of bed to assist in Flame’s rescue, according to the Instagram post.

“We got him out, brought him inside, cleaned him up and dried him off and he’s been running around ever since,” Lt. Brandon Peskopos said, according to the The Greenville News.

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The fire department started the account for the cat after he wandered into the station a few years ago, according to The Greenville News report.

Flame was malnourished when the station took him in, firefighters said as he was featured as an example of a “cat from heaven” on Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell,” according to The State.

But it appears Flame no longer has such worries, based on the many photos showing him living his best life at the firehouse.

He’s also grown accustomed to the loud sounds of a fire station, The State reported.

“Flame is family, we take care of your family and we will always take care of our own,” the post said.

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