‘A horrible tragedy’: About 100 animals killed in Indiana pet store fire

About 100 animals died of smoke inhalation after a fiery blaze broke out at an Indiana pet store Monday night, fire officials said.

Firefighters arriving at the scene in Indianapolis to investigate an alarm around 9 p.m. found the building covered in “thick black smoke,” according to the city’s fire department. Inside the shop, firefighters discovered what “can only be described as a horrible tragedy,” the agency said in a statement posted on social media.

“The animals were still in their respective cages and simply succumbed to the deadly gases produced by the smoke,” authorities said.

Among the dead animals were about 40 dogs, 25 parakeets and multiple rabbits. The surviving ones included reptiles, fish, a guinea pig and a cat, all of which were safely removed from the structure and taken to a veterinarian for treatment, according to the fire department.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. It’s also unclear how long the fire had been burning before the alarm went off.

Photos from the scene showed firefighters tackling the blaze at Uncle Bill’s Pet Supplies under snowy conditions and poor visibility. Officials said the crew had “initial difficulties” accessing the fire, which stayed contained the roof area at the back of the store.