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Several Pets Found Day After Massive Fire At Overbrook Apartment Building

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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Most of the people who lived in an Overbrook apartment building lost everything within minutes of a massive five-alarm fire that broke out at 2 a.m. Monday. But a little over 24 hours later, a glimmer of hope for some.

The Red Paw Emergency Relief team was allowed to go into part of the burned down apartment building to search for surviving pets. Tenants reported a dog and roughly a dozen cats missing.

Tenants Believe Man Burning Candle Started Massive Overbrook Apartment Building Fire That Displaced Dozens

"I was up all night thinking about that poor dog and these cats that were still in there," said Jennifer Leary with Red Paw Emergency Relief.

Leary and her team around 11 a.m. Tuesday found two cats and a pet turtle alive.

"One of the residents whose cat and turtle we took out this morning--as soon as she heard, she ran to the scene. She was just overjoyed," Leary said.

Other tenants are hoping for a similar reunion. There are at least four more missing pets in the building--that's a dog and three cats. They were last seen on the third floor, just one floor down from where the fire may have started. That floor still unstable.

"We are working with ATF and fire marshals and L&I to try and get a sense of when we can get back in--if we can get back in. So it's just going to take some time. Unfortunately, it's just a waiting game," Leary said.

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