Officials confirm that a hero cat alerted a Maryland family to a house fire, but unfortunately succumbed to smoke inhalation.

In Maryland, a cat named Prince is being praised for saving the lives of the homeowners who were sleeping when their house caught fire.

On Sunday, a fire occurred on Westside Drive in Gaithersburg, as stated by a spokesperson from the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS). The Washington Post reported that the cat was the one that kept pawing at the sleeping occupants around 4 a.m.

The three individuals, one male and two females, were unable to escape a burning building due to heavy smoke. They sought refuge in a second-floor master bedroom and called for assistance from a basement resident and emergency services.

The three people trapped in the bedroom grabbed a painter's ladder from outside and placed it by the window to escape.

"The smoke grew thicker and thicker until my house caught fire. The cat's owner, who wished to remain anonymous, shared this with DC News Now. They stated that if it weren't for Prince waking them up, they would have all perished. The owner believes that Prince is their guardian angel."

The cat, who escaped from the house, jumped from the owner's arms and ran back into the building, according to MCFRS's Pete Piringer. The cat was likely overcome by smoke and found deceased on the second floor by firefighters. Piringer referred to the cat as "Hero Cat" in an earlier post, acknowledging the owners' gratitude for the feline's actions.

At the time of the fire, the smoke alarms in the home were either taken out or turned off because of painting.

According to Piringer, the fire started on the first floor of the three-story townhome and is believed to have originated from an issue with a freezer motor before it spread to the kitchen.

The family of four was displaced but not injured.