Photo courtesy of LBFD. 

A large fire in a Long Beach triplex left at least one occupant displaced and three cats dead, fire officials said.

Fire units arrived to a heavy fire in the back unit of a triplex on the 1100 block of Appleton Street in the city’s Alamitos Beach neighborhood just before 1:00AM on Monday, November 23, Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) spokesman Brian Fisk said.

It was unknown how many occupants were inside but they all escaped, Fisk added. Firefighters found three dead cats during a primary search, he said.

The fire was extinguished in about seven minutes.

Red Cross was not initially requested but at about noon at least one person called the Red Cross for lodging assistance, Fisk added.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“Response times matter and we need to begin rebuilding our fire department,” The Long Beach Firefighters Association tweeted alongside a video of the blaze. “Every fire station needs a fire engine!”

Response times matter and we need to begin rebuilding our fire department. Every fire station needs a fire engine! pic.twitter.com/UlP0J0yl1M

— Long Beach Fire (@lbfirefighters) November 23, 2015