Meet The Firefighter’s Mascot, ‘Flame,’ The ‘Arson Cat!’
It’s a clear cut case of who rescued who!
Per People.com, “Jordan Lide was relaxing with his crew mates in the open bay area of the..Belmont Engine House in the Greenville, South Carolina Fire Station, when he thought he heard a faint meowing sound coming from the grass behind the station.
When he went out to investigate, he discovered that the mournful cries were coming from a tiny orange-and-white kitten.
“He was malnourished and a little skittish, but he let me pick him up and as soon as I petted him just once, he was all over me,” Lide, 26, tells PEOPLE. “He jumped into my lap and I knew right then, there was no going back.”
He scooped up the kitty and found some leftover fried chicken and some tuna fish, and from that day on, the department had a new mascot!
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
What’s with the name, ‘Flame, the Arson Cat?’ Jordan explained, “…some school kids on a tour asked if he was a service cat. Somebody said, ‘Yeah, he’s an arson cat,’ and the name stuck.”
As it turns out, he has kind of become a ‘service cat.’
“Even for the guys you wouldn’t consider to be cat guys, he’s a huge mental break,” says Lide. “In a 24-hour shift, you sometimes see the worst side of society. But when you get back and pet Flame, he helps you to feel better.”
Yes, Flame’s the department mascot, but he’s also become quite the celebrity – he even has his own Instagram account. His followers send him mail and toys. They stop by the station to meet him!
He’s also been featured on the Animal Planet show, My Cat from Hell, in a segment called “My Cat from Heaven.”
