Cat Shelter Fire Kills Owner and Hundreds of Animals

An Iranian citizen journalist, who writes under a pseudonym to protect his identity, wrote the following article on the ground inside Iran.

As you approach, there are cats moaning and crying everywhere and smells of burnt flesh and ash hit you as they linger in the air. This is the Safa Dasht shelter, a big sanctuary that cared for stray cats and dogs in Eshtehard near Tehran until a fire devastated it on August 30. Many of the cats are now in hiding, so the young men that used to guard them weep nearby. The shelter’s owner, Sh’oleh Raufi, which means “flame,” also died in the fire.

In late August, the shelter’s supporters received a Viber message notifying them of the fire: approximately 200 cats had died, as had Sh’oleh Raufi.

The cats are now terrified of everybody. They are in a permanent state of shock, much like the people who come to visit the shelter. Trembling, they refuse to allow anyone to come close to them, having seen their playmates and protector die in the fire. Some of the survivors have burn scars but others – mainly those that were not in the main part of the building at the time — remain unscathed. Any visitors carry water bottles with them and packets of dry or fresh food for the animals. But none of the cats have the energy to eat or drink.

The main building was reserved for cats that were either sick, blind or had lost a limb. On the night of the fire, Sh’oleh Raufi was sleeping in the shelter alongside these ailing animals. Fire inspectors reported that the fire had started at six in the morning and that Sh’oleh had died because she was unable to open the door and let herself out. It is thought that the fumes rendered her unconscious and that she then burned to death.

Slightly further along in the building, healthy cats and kittens were housed in small spaces and further along still, there was a place for sick dogs. However, the fire never reached that far so the dogs and the cats that were fortunate enough to be outside the main building only suffered small injuries.

After the fire was put out, a few of the smaller cats were able to pull themselves out of the debris. They remain scared and shaky. Some of the injured cats have since been taken to treatment centers by passers-by, while others have been taken to the police station. When police experts came to the scene, they said, “The fire was electrical. The wiring here didn’t meet necessary standards and that’s why the fire started.”

However, some people insist that the incident should be investigated further. In the past, locals had threatened Raufi for taking care of the cats and dogs because, as they told her, they did not approve. So some people suspect that some of the villagers intentionally killed Raufi and the 200 cats. The police promise to pursue the matter. But that does not help the 100 or so cats that no longer have a shelter or anybody to take care for them.

Sh’oleh Raufi bought the land over five years ago so that she could take care of stray animals. At the time, she was about 60 years old. She dedicated her life to taking care of animals that nobody else could or did care for, or to those that had been harmed by other human beings.

Now the shelter’s supporters are desperately asking themselves how they can continue to protect these animals that have survived this tragedy.

By Roozbeh Jabbari, Citizen-Journalist

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