Might have badly injured a couple rat tails during fire evac

Fins us on Amazon
Shop with us on Ebay
Advertise with us
The Rat Shack Forum

Help Support The Rat Shack Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
rhapsody

rhapsody

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 1, 2010
Messages
1,288
Location
California, U.S.
Holy crap, the apartment directly across from us went up in a huge fireball around 1:30am - luckily the hubby was still awake and saw it. Their windows exploded and the embers were moving in our direction, so I ran to get the kids packed up. Uh, they immediately picked up my panic, so I had a bit of difficulty grabbing them all safely.

Mimette actually bolted from the carrier under the CN, so I reached under, barely managed to grab a hold of her tail, and dragged her out by it. Jonah was the last one I got out from the cage, and I ended up pulling him out by the tail too - he was hiding under the wheel and was super hard to reach.

I think I grabbed them both near the base of their tails, but I can't be sure. Fortunately the fire department showed up really quickly, and they got the fire under control, so we're back in the apartment and I was able to look the kids over. No degloving, thank goodness, but could there be any other damage I could have caused in my panic?
 
Wowzers hope no-one was hurt in the fire.
I think all of us would have done the same thing any way to keep our babies safe.
I hope your babies forgive you soon and hope their tails are ok.
 
Oh my!! That must have been horifying!!! I'd keep an eye on them today to see how things are. But like Eeper said I think any one of us would have done the same thing. Atleast everyone got out safely!!
 
Wow, that was scary! Good quick thinking during a crisis. I need to think of a good plan for getting my pets out safely too.

As for the tail, you could bend/crack the tail but it's highly unlikely. I've grabbed rats by the tail several times when trying to retrieve them by sliding them over to me. I think the worst cases are when rats are dangled and held by the tip of their tails. The weight of their body is too much for the tip of the tail.
 
I'm so glad you, the husband, and ratties are alright and that you didn't lose your apartment and belongs. That must be just awful for your neighbor. I too must admit to stopping a rat a two by the tail, but also grab higher up and pull gently. I'm sure yours will be just fine. Have to agree with JORATS dangling would probably do the damage. :cuddle:
 
So glad that all of you are OK! You did the right things by getting everyone out fast. You will be able to tell if anything is wrong. If they run around as normal and don't squeak when they move or get touched they are likely OK.
 
Thanks everyone! :hugs: According to the initial reports it looks like no one was injured in the fire, but that apartment is completely gutted.

I honestly thought I was prepared for a quick emergency evac with my kids - I always keep carriers next to the cages for that reason. But the scenarios I was prepping for always assumed that all six rats would be ready to go at the cage doors. Oh god, I couldn't have been more wrong. The kiddos knew something was wrong, so they were hiding out in the sputnik, various hammocks and boxes, and under the wheel. It didn't help that I didn't have time to be nice - I was really afraid that if I couldn't get them out asap, the hubby would have forced me to leave them. It felt like it took forever to find them all, and even more precious time to pry them from their hidey spots. And when Mimette ran under the cage, that was the absolute worst feeling ever.

The kids are still upset - they were already scared and then I manhandled them roughly on top of that. Once they settle down, I'll be able to look them over more closely.
 
Whoa, what a nightmare! So glad you're all okay. You did the right thing. If you'd done any serious harm, you'd know about it. They might be a bit sore but better that than the alternative!

Sent from my SK17i using Tapatalk 2
 
Just keep stuffing their faces with treats and I'm SURE you'll be forgiven. They're probably more scared because YOU were scared, and as those feelings wind down in you, it'll wind down in them as well. Plus they're probably smelling all the fire suppressants and icky burnt stuff from next door as well, which won't be helping any ('Oh no, Mom's scared and WHAT THE HECK IS THAT SMELL?!?!').

I'm really, really, super glad you and your family are safe!! Especially considering it was the one right beside you!!! I had to evac a few times due to apartment 'fires' or drills (one was a neighbour on our floor who put an egg on to cook and left for work without even turning it off - obviously that one went up in flames and a ton of smoke). I informed my boyfriend that he had the responsibility to grab the laptops (if there was time), I would grab my bag of medications and the rats. Thankfully they were never too hard to find, but I only had two at the time, and there was never a situation like yours to deal with, so that made a big difference.

So your apartment is totally okay? I'm really impressed with the structural integrity, that it would keep your apartment so safe!
 
i know the feeling, our fire alarms went off and my heart was racing and everything. all the rats scattered all over the triple critter nation. but i was home alone, and people looked at me very weirdly with 8 carriers once i went outside.. >.< i'm glad everyone is ok though!
 
M0onkist said:
So your apartment is totally okay? I'm really impressed with the structural integrity, that it would keep your apartment so safe!
Click to expand...

Whoops, should have been more clear - our apartment complex is structured in rows of 12 units each, six on the bottom floor and six on the second. The apartment that caught on fire was in the next row adjacent, and directly across from us (about 15 feet away). Does that make sense? We weren't in any way connected to it, but when their windows exploded and the embers started flying, we were certain the fire was going to jump across to our row.

This is the view from the hubby's office. The boarded up window is one of three from the on-fire apartment. I saw the interior beforehand - they didn't have any walls left inside. All that was left standing were the metal pipes that used to be inside the walls. The pink room to the left is the nursery for the next door neighbor's little girl. They got some damage too, and you can see where the roof used to be ...

fire_zps4d53a644.jpg
 
I am so fearful of house/apartment fires. It is incredibly unfortunate and shouldn't happen to ANYONE. I don't really have a plan if that happens other than grab all the rats and stuff them all in one carrier, then grab my dog, make sure they are outside and safe then hurry and grab my rabbit and gecko. If there is time I would grab a few other important things but I imagine I would so shaken I would pass out in the process. When I move into my own home these things are hopefully going to be thoroughly thought and planned out. My parents don't even have a fire extinguisher in the kitchen!

I am glad everyone is OK. I think the only injury to their tails would be something minor that would resolve on it's own.
 
Holy crap! glad you got out of there. you thought fast and did what you had to do to protect your kiddos. it sounds like it happened so quicklythat there may not have been any damage, especially Iif you got them from the base of the tails. fingers crossed theyre ok. and thank goodness the fire got under control and youre okay.
 
I thought you meant the apartment across the hall - you open your front door and the door facing you - that apartment!! Even the building across is dangerous with the wind blowing and easily could of caught your's on fire too. Take it from a firefighting household you can never be too prepared and no matter how much practice, or how many times you go over things in your mind - its completely different when it actually happens. My fiance is a firefighter, I used to be about 20 years ago and I can honestly tell you, I don't think we own a fire extinguisher and if we do I have no idea where it is. I also don't think our smoke detectors work - they were hard wired in throughout the house so if one went off they all did, chain reaction - I kept setting them off when cooking and I believe he finally turned them off. I also do not believe our carbon monoxide detector is hooked up either - it was beeping for low battery and I finally took it down. I will need to get on this immediately there is no excuse!!!! Again, glad all of you and the fuzz butts are safe!!
 

Latest posts

Back
Top