Chief Ben Steketee said he and two other Hillsboro firefighters responded Saturday to a call made by Ginger Hoffner who suspected a cat had run into a home while it was being fumigated.

“One of the people there thought the cat had gotten back in the house,” Steketee said. “I put my breathing apparatus and coat and gloves on, and went in and looked for it, but I never found it.”

Steketee said the firemen also used a thermal imaging camera to aide in their search.

“I just thought of (the cat) this morning,” Steketee said Tuesday. “I wondered if they had found it.”

It was not the first time Hillsboro firefighers had responded to pets in danger.

Three calls came to mind for Steketee. One involved rescuing an iguana that had gotten away from its owner, and another involved retrieving a cat from a tree in Durham.

“It was a declawed cat and it had never been outside,” Steketee said. “The lady was very upset.”

The third incident involved a horse falling through ice.

“One time a horse fell through the ice and we had to rescue the horse,” Steketee said, “but I don’t credit us for rescuing it. Marvin Peterson, who used to be the fish and game wildlife guy, rescued the horse, but we had our equipment out there.”

Calls from concerned pet owners are not common.