A fire at the Ponderosa Pet Resort in Georgetown resulted in the deaths of 75 dogs late on Sept. 18. according to a release from the City of Georgetown.

“We know each dog that died in this fire was a cherished member of someone’s family, so our heart goes out to all those who were affected by this tragic fire,” Georgetown Fire Chief John Sullivan said in the statement. “We believe the dogs at the facility likely died due to smoke inhalation, not the flames from the fire. We are working as quickly as we can to (conclude) the investigation, so pets can be returned to their grieving family members as soon as possible.”

The release noted that fire investigators were working to determine the cause and origin of the blaze at 2518 N. Austin Ave., as well as if a fire suppression system or smoke alarms were on-site. According to the city’s release, federal, state and Georgetown fire codes do not require “sprinkler systems for the use and size of the facility,” where the fire broke out at close to 11 p.m. and had Georgetown Fire crews on-site in under 5 minutes.

Per the city’s release, the facility will be contacting family members of the dogs to make arrangements to retrieve them.