Family dog lost, but other pets survive Lynn blaze

LYNN – A dog died but a cat and several parakeets were saved Tuesday in a house fire on Nichols Street, fire officials said.George Barreras, 14, watched paramedics resuscitate his cat, “Chicho,” using oxygen for several minutes on a stretcher.Barreras’ mother, Ana, burst into tears minutes later when her son carried Chicho away from paramedics in good condition.At the time, Ana didn’t know the fate of her other beloved pet.”I don’t care about nothing, just my dog,” she said.Chicho continually and loudly “meowed” as Barreras’ friends and family petted the animal and comforted each other.”He’s scared,” Barreras said of the cat.According to fire officials, the fire started in the kitchen of the Barreras family’s second-floor apartment.No one was living in the first-floor apartment.No one claimed to have been home since 1:30 p.m. and the fire broke out just before 5 p.m.”When we arrived the flames were shooting out of the back,” District Fire Chief Robert Bourgeois said. “They came home and found it burning.”Ana Barreras said she came home to find her house burning after she picked up her other child from school.Firefighters broke numerous windows and cut a hole through the roof with a chain saw to ventilate the home.An exact cause of the fire and an estimate of the damages were not provided by fire officials Tuesday night.