OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — If you've ever laid awake at night imagining what you would grab from your home if it ever caught fire, you probably picture everyone making it out safely before saving any prized possessions. There is hardly any time to think in such a life-or-death situation and if your panicked pet skitters away during your escape, it may rely on a rescue from a brave firefighter.
That is exactly what happened on Tuesday night when the Omaha Fire Department's Truck 63 B Shift crew responded to a house fire in southwest Omaha. After making sure all four human occupants had safely exited, firefighters re-entered the residence and recovered an unresponsive dog from under a bed.
First responders wasted no time in trying to revive it with a special oxygen mask. In just five minutes of being hooked up to a portable oxygen tank, the dog was awake and wagging its tail, OFD said.
Did you know the #OFD carries special O2 masks just for pets?
— OFD Firefighter J.Wendt (@OFDFFWendt) February 16, 2022
At last night’s fire, T63 rescued a dog from a smoke filled house.
It was alive but unresponsive.
Medics used the special masks, reviving the dog & returned the tail wagging pup to it’s owners!#OmahaFireDepartment pic.twitter.com/CQQlIf3itq
"The importance of having an oxygen mask for a pet specifically, helped out greatly in that house fire in being able to save that dog's life," said Battalion Chief and PIO Scott Fitzpatrick.
Since 2018, OFD stations have had the life-saving equipment — called Fido Bags — on each fire engine and battalion chief vehicle for every fire call. The bags were donated from the Omaha Animal Medical Group and created by Arizona-based nonprofit Fetch Foundation. Each is equipped with gloves, an oxygen mask with tubing, extra leashes, KY Jelly for cuts and burns, a blanket, splint and a collapsible dog bowl for water. Dog-specific masks have been used by OFD since 2010, but prior to 2010 first responders were forced to retrofit human oxygen masks.
Though they aren't used often — Fitzpatrick estimated just a few times a year — they can be used in life-saving measures for a wide range of pets and not exclusively dogs since the masks are larger than human oxygen masks and have a more conical shape suitable for a snout.
"It means a great deal for us to be able to help anyone we come across," Fitzpatrick said."That's kind of why we became firefighters, we want to help and make a difference. We realize that everybody's pet is a part of their family, so their fur babies that they have, so any time that we can help and put oxygen on them or do anything that we can to get them the right help that they need to make sure that everyone in their family is doing OK — that makes us feel like we've done our part."
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