“Volunteer Firefighter Goes Viral After Bringing His Cat, Peanut, to Work”

There’s a new fire chief in town! Peanut the cat is a special member of the volunteer fire department in Arbutus, Md., and she’s learning the ropes from her owner and the other firefighters.

Lamine Fofana — a 2nd Lieutenant EMS, a volunteer firefighter, and Peanut’s owner — talks exclusively with PEOPLE Magazine about how his furr feline became the unofficial firehouse cat.

“She enjoys coming around. She loves all the people. There’s a lot for her to explore,” Fofana says. “So a good portion of the time, she’s just walking around saying hi to everyone.”

Fofana shares videos of Peanut at the fire station on his TikTok. His recent video with Peanut went viral, amassing 3.5 million views.

While Peanut is Fofana’s cat, the other crew members have also come to love having her around. Peanut is a popular department member, with many firefighters taking time out of their day to play with her in their downtime.

“She comes most Sundays and a couple of other days sprinkled in,” Fofana shares. “It is a volunteer fire department, so whenever I have time to come down, I’ll bring her with me sometime so she’s not home alone.”

Although Peanut is not a ranking department member and doesn’t like to wear her fire hat, Fofana says they have a special place for her at the station. They’re also in the process of making Peanut her own firesuit.

“She doesn’t have an official title. However, she does have her own name tag at the station,” he shares.

The other firehouse members appreciate Peanut coming to visit and miss her when she’s gone.

“Other people like when she comes down,” Fofana says. “When I come without her, they ask me where she is and why she didn’t come.”