A kitchen fire inside a senior-living condominium in Bel Air was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system on Sunday, saving the apartment and one of its residents, Betty the cat.

Firefighters from Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company and four surrounding departments were dispatched to Park View At Bel Air around 1:15 p.m. Sunday after being notified by the alarm system, according to a news release from the Office of the State Fire Marshal. Their arrival prompted the evacuation of the four-story, 101-unit apartment building as firefighters discovered the fire on the fourth floor.

Only the unit that caught fire and two units immediately below it were affected due to the quick response of the sprinkler system, the news release said. Only one sprinkler was activated, confining the fire to the kitchen and saving a house cat from the flames.

“Residential fire sprinklers are proven to save lives, prevent injuries, protect proper, and in this case, our beloved pets,” Jason Mowbray, acting state fire marshal, said in the release. “This is yet another example of how the presence of an automatic fire sprinkler system protected occupants and prevented substantial fire damage to residential property.”

The man who lived in the apartment told investigators from the fire marshal’s office that he noticed a fire behind his stove and refrigerator and attempted to put out the flames until they grew too big and activated the sprinkler system. The man left the apartment without his pet cat, the release said.

While investigating the cause of the fire, which was determined to be an electrical failure in the refrigerator, deputy state fire marshals discovered Betty “wet and meowing” inside the apartment.

Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company Sgt. Casey Cameron later reacquainted Betty with her owner, who was temporarily displaced by the fire. The residents of the two units below the fire were also displaced, but all are reported to have received assistance from friends and family. Unaffected residents were allowed to return to their units.

In the meantime, maintenance personnel at Park View are repairing and cleaning the areas affected by water damage and are making repairs to the sprinkler system. Damage was estimated to be $50,000, and no injuries were reported, according to the release.

Have a news tip? Contact Brennan Stewart at bstewart@baltsun.com, 443-800-5902, or @BrennanStewart_ on X.