Scott Buehler was familiar with rescuing and climbing - he was trained to rescue people from houses in flames and hiked Bear Mountain.

And he had a soft spot, too.

Wednesday afternoon, the 27-year-old Buehler climbed up a 50-foot Cypress tree to save a stranded, meowing cat, fell 35 to 40 feet and died.

A foreman at USS Cal Builders, Buehler had an injured back and didn't go to work Wednesday. He stayed at the Nordic Street home he shared with two roommates in Orange.

Buehler, who had received firefighter training at El Camino Fire Academy, was trying to save a neighbor's cat that had been in the tree for two days meowing, neighbors said today.

Buehler managed to grab the cat, but then some branches cracked and he lost his balance, falling to the sidewalk from the tree at around 1 p.m., authorities said.

"He was a great guy - easy going, liked to be around friends and would always make you feel welcome," said a roommate, Danté Maddox.

Firefighters tried to save his life and took him to a hospital, where he died, police said.

Despite popular belief, firemen do not typically respond to calls asking to rescue cats.

"When the cats get hungry, they typically come back down," said Capt. Ian MacDonald of the Orange Fire Department. "Also, laddering a tree has a level of risk involved. Knowing that the cat will come down, we don't take unnecessary risks."

A neighbor called Animal Care Services to get the cat out of the tree. The officer arrived at about the same time as the accident, said Deanne Thompson, a county spokeswoman. The cat landed safetly on the ground.

The cat, which had minor injuries, was taken, treated and returned to the owners today.