Miracle hamster survives Swan Valley condominium fire
After the flames were extinguished
By Kendall Keys, James Paxson
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THOMAS TWP., Michigan (WNEM) — One Saginaw County teacher’s class pet hamster survived a devastating fire.
Earlier this month flames tore through multiple units at the Swan Valley Condominiums in Thomas Township.
After the flames were extinguished, the hamster from Swan Valley Middle School was unaccounted for and feared dead.
Firefighters found the hamster Monday morning in the debris of the complex, running on his hamster wheel.
“We’re astounded. We couldn’t believe that he was still alive,” said Swan Valley Middle School teacher Autumn Blaesser.
The fire destroyed the belongings of about 30 residents, who all made it out unscathed.
One small, furry resident was unaccounted for and thought to be dead.
“It’s a miracle, Lil Biscuit is alive!” Blaesser said.
‘Lil Biscuit,’ the hamster resides inside her classroom during the school year, but was living inside Swan Valley Condominiums over the summer.
“During spring break, Christmas break, and summer, I have a student who takes him home and takes care of him and the student lived in the shields condo fires. I got contacted the beginning of last week that he did not make it out of the fires and my student wanted to get ahold of him to bury him, so the firefighters were back searching through the rubble yesterday morning and found him alive, under the rubble, spinning on his little wheel,” Blaesser said.
Lil Biscuit went 11 days without food, water, or shelter.
“It was a miracle, both my kids started crying, they were so happy,” Blaesser said.
Happy that somehow Lil Biscuit survived amid the incinerated ruins.
“They said he was very, very smelly when they picked him up from the fire department. So he has a clean, sterilized new cage, new toys, new food, new water, he’s living the good life now, going to be returning on the first day of school, safe and sound,” Blaesser said.
Huntington Bank on Gratiot Road is accepting donations for victims displaced by the fire.
Culver’s on Gratiot Road will donate 25 percent of all of its sales on Wednesday to the cause.
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