The evening of July 10 was a regular night for Alachua County residents Ann and Rick Lyons. Rick Lyons was sound asleep while Ann Lyons was trying to wind down with their four cats around 2 a.m.
After giving up an attempt to sleep, Ann Lyons entered the living room where their tabby cat Annie was passed out on her blanket.
“She was still sleeping right where I had been [in the living room.] I had not been there five minutes and all of a sudden she woke up, jumped off the couch, ran across the room and started crying this horrible cry,” Lyons said.
Ann Lyons initially thought someone was breaking in until she approached the cat door and could see into the garage.
“I could see flames through the cat door,” said Lyons.
She ran through the house screaming for Rick Lyons, telling him the house was on fire. He then went into “house-saving mode” as Ann Lyons ran out the front door to call 911.
“I slung my CPAP off my face and ran to the laundry room in my black underwear to see my car on fire. The flame was from the floor all the way to the ceiling,” Rick Lyons said.
He opened the garage door and fetched his long garden hose from behind the house, which is on Northwest 59th Drive east of the city of Alachua. Rick Lyons made multiple trips back and forth to put out the fire, saving the house from the possibility of more damage.
Rick Lyons received some burns to the bottom of his feet, his hand and his arm thanks to the metal shrapnel from the car but is recovering just fine.
Soon after, multiple fire rescue teams attended the incident, taking care of the excessive smoke and trying to find the cause.
The fire inspector and fire departments believe it was a faulty refrigerator, one the Lyons bought less than a month ago.
The Lyons are now staying in a family member’s RV behind the garage, while the house is rid of all the smoke damage and odor.
“We should be able to go in the house around noon tomorrow,” said Rick Lyons.
Ann Lyons calls Annie her “hero cat.” It’s a miracle the cat made a noise and Ann Lyons heard her.
“I don’t hear well so I wear hearing aids. I didn’t have those in because I was trying to go to bed,” said Ann Lyons. “All the cats normally run and hide from noises. They’re scared of everything. Even him [Rick Lyons.]”
The Lyons are grateful no further damage was done to their home and say the event is “traumatizing” but know it could’ve been much worse.