Ebb is one lucky kitty, thanks to a Tiverton firefighter and lifelong animal lover.

Lt. Michael Amaral was among a large contingent of fire fighters to respond to the Dadson Mobile Estates trailer park on Bulgarmarsh Road just before midnight Thursday, Feb. 1. When fire fighters arrived, there was considerable smoke coming out of the trailer, and officers had already confirmed that the family — two adults and several children — was safely outside.

We “confirmed that everyone was out, I was still inside looking around, and I heard over the radio that there was a family pet still unaccounted for,” Lt. Amaral said. “I said, ‘Where would I go if I was a cat?’

So he started trying to get as far away from the worst of the smoke as he could, which ended up being the last bedroom at the far end of the home. He’s trained to look under beds for victims and that’s where he found Ebb, though she was unresponsive and didn’t appear to be breathing.

“I got it outside,” Lt. Amaral said. “There were some off duty fire fighters there who came to support, and I asked them to grab an oxygen bottle. We threw a mask on the cat for a good solid 10 minutes. She started to come around and I said, ‘Oh yeah, she’s OK’ — she was latched on to my turnout gear pretty good and wouldn’t let go.”

Lt. Amaral advised the family to take Ebb to the vet for a checkup, and she was quickly put into a cat carrier and taken away. But he found out later that she is doing fine.

On Friday, Amaral said he’s always been a huge animal lover, having owned cats, dogs, sheep, goats and cows over the years. Being able to help one made his day — he loves the job, he said.

“I’ve been an animal lover all my life. It’s a good feeling when you have your four-legged friends by your side.”

Said Chief William Bailey of the job done by Amaral and his fellow fire fighters: "Excellent job."