Viral video of firefighter saving a kitten has a sad ending

Months ago, a video taken by a Fresno, California firefighter went viral. With a GoPro camera attached to his helmet, firefighter Cory Kalanick captured footage of his heroic animal rescue.

After firefighters had extinguished a burning house, Kalanick went into the home to survey the scene for anyone, or anything that needed rescuing. Upon entering a room, he found an unconscious kitten lying on the floor. He immediately grabbed the cat, rushed outside and managed to resuscitate it with an oxygen mask and a bottle of cold water – all was captured on tape. The video made headlines and all rejoiced and cried over the valiant efforts of Corey.

Recently, the footage was recut as an ad for GoPro's HD HERO3 camera and has, once again, become a viral sensation. What many didn't know was that the kitten, named Lucky, was taken to an emergency vet the day of his rescue. Later that night, it passed away due to lung damage caused by the smoke.

GoPro had no prior knowledge of the kitten's passing and many felt it was irresponsible of them to release the ad titled "Fireman Saves Kitten", now with a sad ending. But as Gawker points out, one Redditor commented on the video's thread saying, "what's crucial here is that, to my knowledge, GoPro wasn't using the footage to show a firefighter ensure the kitten life a long and happy life, but rather show the great work the firefighter did in his/hers efforts to save the kitten."