Posts Tagged fire department receives pet oxygen masks

Bloomingdale Fire District news

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

In Bloomingdale, firefighters had to use an adult oxygen mask [on a dog] that was not designed for pets, which adds to the animal’s stress and leaves the owner frantic.

The Bloomingdale Fire Protection District [recently] welcomed a donation of masks specifically meant to fit around a snout and administer oxygen to a pet struggling to breath.

Invisible Fence of Chicagoland donated two kits that the district will keep on apparatus at its two stations. With the help of a veterinarian, firefighters were trained how to use the mask on a dog.

Through a program called Project Breathe, the company has provided more than 10,000 kits to fire stations across the country and Canada. Earlier this month, Wheaton firefighters received the devices.

Fire departments can complete forms seeking the kits at Invisiblefence.com/O2.

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Wheaton Fire Department news

Excerpts from the DailyHerald.com:

Wheaton Fire Chief Bill Schultz estimates his staff only sees one or two cases per year of animals overcome by smoke inhalation, and they are now equipped with six kits designed to help any pet with a snout breathe easier in the case of a fire. Each kit contains three sizes of masks for small, medium and large pets, including dogs, cats, ferrets and gerbils. The masks work just like a human oxygen mask.

Schultz said the department has had animal oxygen masks in the past, but they were outdated and losing quality over time from being mostly unused.

No official statistics on pet casualties are kept by the U.S. Fire Administration, but industry websites and sources estimate between 40,000 to 150,000 pets die in fires each year, mostly due to smoke inhalation.

Invisible Fence DuPage donated six pet oxygen mask kits to the fire department earlier this month, after a Wheaton firefighter with a soft spot for pets made the request.

The business is part of a national company that installs electronic dog fence systems and runs Project Breathe, which has resulted in 13,000 donated pet oxygen kits to fire departments in the U.S. and Canada in the past 10 years. Anyone interested in requesting pet oxygen mask kits for their community can do so at www.invisiblefence.com/why-invisible-fence/project-breathe.

thanks Dan

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