Montgomery County, Maryland - A heroic little cat saved his family from death. For the guardian angel, however, the fire ended in the ultimate sacrifice.

DC News Now reported on the firefighting operation on Sunday morning.

At around 4:20 AM, emergency crews were called to a house fire with people trapped inside.

According to the emergency call, a man and two women were on the second floor of a burning building – trapped and threatened by the flames.

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When they arrived on the scene, the rescuers realized that the family was already safe, but told the firefighters about what had occurred shortly before.

The family's cat Prince knocked on their door during the night and woke the sleeping residents.

Only then did they realize that there was a fire in their house and that they could no longer get out of their bedroom.

They grabbed the phone and called the resident in the basement of the building, who immediately went outside and placed a painter's ladder at the window of the upstairs bedroom so that the family could escape the flames.

On the way out, however, poor frightened Prince jumped out of their arms and ran back into the fiery room.

The heroic animal was later found dead from smoke inhalation.

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"The smoke got thicker and thicker, and before I knew, my house was on fire," the cat's owner said.

"If it weren’t for Prince waking me up, we would all be dead. He truly saved our lives, and I believe he is our angel."

Peter Piringer, a spokesman for the local fire department, also reported on the touching operation on X.

According to him, Prince will now be remembered by everyone as a hero.