AMES, Iowa -- Firefighters battled a house fire in Ames on Tuesday afternoon.

According to the Ames Fire Department, at around 4:42 p.m. firefighters responded to a report of a house fire near the intersection of Tripp Street and South Franklin Avenue. As firefighters arrived on scene, they spotted heavy smoke coming from a second-floor window.

Firefighters entered the home and found active fire in two bedrooms on the second floor and were quickly able to stop the fire from spreading even further, the fire department said.

The family inside the home were able to safely escape unharmed, but Fire Chief Rich Higgins said the family's two cats died in the fire.

One resident of the home is being credited for getting everyone out safely. According to the fire department, a woman resident was

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