WMBCTV: Animal Rescue Community in Mourning, Recovery Efforts Begin Following Devastating Blaze
- Feb 13
- 2 min read
Inside One Step Closer Animal Rescue was once a place filled with barking, wagging tails and second chances. Now, rescue leaders are mourning the loss of multiple dogs killed in a tragic fire.
The flames reportedly broke out in the kennel area, where officials say nearly 40 dogs were being housed. The rapidly spreading blaze prompted an urgent effort to get as many animals out as possible. And now days later, many say the signs of what happened here are still impossible to ignore - charred sections of the building, the lingering smell of smoke and a tremendous loss to the community.
“It was crazy. People from Lakeland construction were coming over,” said Debbie Kowalchuk, Trustee, One Step Closer Animal Rescue. “Everybody was just trying to grab dogs and get everybody out. That's how a couple of the dogs got loose because we were just grabbing dogs and putting them in the play area.”
Police, firefighters and volunteers worked together in an effort to release dogs from their kennels as conditions escalated. Many of the animals were transported to partner organizations, while some were taken to local veterinary hospitals for treatment related to burns and smoke inhalation.
“This is like our life, you know, we love animals more than anything,” said Cassie Kowalchuk, President, One Step Closer Animal Rescue. “The dogs, what they’ve been through. We have dogs with burns. It's horrible… We had kennel staff on at the time and they did everything they could to get the dogs out of the kennel. They tried their best. They got the majority of them out. Six unfortunately passed away but they did their best to get as many as they could out and they risked their own safety for that.”
Rescue coordinators say they are focused on arranging foster placements while continuing medical follow-ups as recovery efforts get underway. The building itself remains uninhabitable, leaving the organization without a central shelter space. Officials say this means limited storage for donated food, bedding or crates - and a heavy reliance on monetary support instead.
“We definitely need fosters,” said Cassie Kowalchuk, President, One Step Closer Animal Rescue. “We have dogs that we need placement for so the kennels that we’re currently using that are letting us use them, they are short-term so we do need fosters. We also need adopters.”
The rescue has established an official GoFundMe page titled Emergency Support for OSCAR Dogs in an effort to collect donations and organizers say contributions there will go directly toward medical care, foster coordination and long-term rebuilding efforts. They are also directing potential volunteers and foster families to reach out through their official social media pages and designated emergency email at oscaremergency2026@gmail.com.
As for the cause of this fire, authorities say an investigation remains ongoing.
Comments