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Attempt To Save Pets Fails, Ends In Arrest

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By LISA A. DAVIS

ldavis@tampatrib.com

Published: November 22, 2008

  Henry Morgan

ZEPHRYHILLS - Henry Morgan wanted to save his pets.

Instead, he ended up in handcuffs and at least three dogs and a cat perished in the blaze that destroyed his home.

Just before 11 a.m. Friday, firefighters were called to 35615 Chester Drive and arrived 12 minutes later, finding the home engulfed in flames.

At some point, Morgan's wife arrived, followed by Morgan a few minutes later, said Pasco Fire Rescue Assistant Chief Mike Ciccarello.

Morgan started running for the house. Sheriff's deputies and firefighters yelled for him to stay back, but he kept going toward a window.

Deputies and firefighters, according to a report, restrained him so he could not jump through the window and into the blaze.

Morgan, 41, was forcibly removed from the scene, the report states, and was arrested on charges of obstructing the extinguishment of a fire, a felony, and resisting arrest without violence, a misdemeanor.

He was being held at the Land O' Lakes Jail on Friday. Bail was set at $5,150.

About 20 firefighters continued fighting the one-alarm fire but couldn't save the animals or the home, Ciccarello said.

"It looks like a total loss," he said.

The family of five, including two teenage girls and a 7-year-old boy, are being helped by the American Red Cross.

The fire began between a garage-turned-bedroom and a utility room in the small ranch home. The cause was a worn extension cord that had been run under a door, Ciccarello said.

No one was injured.

Reporter Lisa A. Davis can be reached at (727) 815-1083.

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