Firefighters in Nakusp will soon be able to save more than just human lives if there’s a house fire.
They’ve just received special kits to allow them to attach oxygen masks to household pets that are rescued from a fire.
“I saw it on the news one night, firemen were using it,” says Marilyn Swanson, a member of the Protecting Animal Life Society of Nakusp. “I thought it would be good if we had it for our fire department.”
Last Tuesday, Nakusp Fire Chief Terry Warren accepted the donation of two of the kits from PALS.
“I’ve actually been looking for these for a while, through other fire departments,” Warren said. “I haven’t been able to get them.
“These have saved a lot of pets lives in the city, where they have more fires. They really work.”
The Wag’N Pet Oxygen Mask Kits have three different size masks to fit many pets, from dogs and cats to ferrets, birds and other species. The masks allow firefighters to hook the animals up to the emergency oxygen system they normally carry for humans and can be used for pets that have suffered from smoke inhalation or need to be resuscitated after losing consciousness.
PALS president Linda Kendall says each kit costs about $90, and will first be available at the New Denver and Nakusp fire departments. If they prove useful for fire crews, they’ll get more of the kits for the smaller stations in the area.
Chief Warren says while structure fires in the village are rare, a majority of homes have pets in them. He says the department appreciates the donation, and his crews will be trained up to use the kits.
“If we have any pets with smoke inhalation we’ll be able to put the mask on them and revive them hopefully,” he says. “Because pets are like our children.”
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