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Long Island Cop Saves Pets From Burning Home

LAKE GROVE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- A Long Island police officer ran into a burning house to rescue a cat and then went back in again to save two dogs.

Suffolk County police say Officer Eli Tretola pulled the pets from the Lake Grove home around 2 p.m. Friday.

Police say Tretola first braved the flames to save Yoda the cat.

He soon made a return trip when the dogs, a Rottweiler and a Shetland Sheepdog, got loose from a fleeing resident and ran back inside.

Firefighters extinguished the fire. The cause is under investigation. Police say it does not appear to be criminal.

On Tuesday, a two-alarm fire tore through a Clifton, N.J., home, killing 14 animals and sending a tall pillar of smoke and flames high into the sky.

"We lost our pets. And my daughter risked her life trying to save some of them. She got two dogs out," Joan Maso said.

Extreme heat prevented Kieffer from reaching the animals trapped inside.

"When we got here the whole roof was raging on fire," said neighbor Justine Paitchell.

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