Smoke inhalation isn’t just a problem for people during a fire – it’s a problem for their pets, too.
In March, East Pierce Fire and Rescue Fire Chief Bud Backer was able to save a dog from a car fire because he was washing his car in the same parking lot.
“We thought that the dog would have been killed in the smoke,” Backer said after the fire. “But it was smart enough to get to the back of the car, and it must have hunkered down low.”
Now, the fire department is better equipped to rescue pets with the help of specially-designed oxygen masks.
The donation of these six new mask kits (which come with three masks of different sizes to fit most animals with a snout) comes from Invisible Fence of Seattle and their Project Breathe program.
The program’s goal is to equip every fire department in America and Canada with pet oxygen masks. So far, Invisible Fence has donated more than 12,400 masks.
The masks allow firefighters to more effectively administer oxygen to cats and dogs, often saving the animal’s life.
“When a family suffers the tragedy of a fire, lives are turned upside down,” said Ed Hoyt, director of Invisible Fence, in a press release. “Pets are valued family members, so we want families to know that their pet can be cared for if tragedy strikes.”
Backer said that the masks have been placed on each of the six fire engines deployed throughout the fire district that includes Bonney Lake, Sumner, Tehaleh, Lake Tapps South Prairie, Edgewood, Milton and the Ridge communities.