Shortly before 3:30 a.m. today, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue crews were dispatched to reports of a residential fire in the living room of a home on Southwest 124th Avenue in Tigard.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames coming out the front window and two people outside the residence, who suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation. Firefighter paramedics assessed the patients and began treating them at the scene. One patient was later transported to an area hospital for further treatment.

Due to concerns about nearby trees and brush, as well as the proximity of neighboring residences, the incident commander upgraded the call to a second alarm to bring additional firefighting resources to the scene.

Crews were able to quickly get the fire under control and keep it from spreading to nearby structures and vegetation. During a search, firefighters located three cats inside the home, two of which perished in the fire.

Because the residence had working smoke alarms, residents were alerted to the fire and had time to get out of the home.

A TVF&R investigator remains on scene to determine the cause of the early morning fire that heavily damaged the house.