ALPENA — Area firefighters said Thursday they know how important family pets are and they’re willing to put themselves at risk to rescue pets during emergencies.
That dedication was on full display on Wednesday as Alpena-area firefighters, Alpena County Animal Control, and local veterinarians tried to save a dog who was pulled from a burning home.
Firefighters responded early Wednesday afternoon to a house fire on Michigan Avenue.
No people were in the home at the time of the fire, but two dogs were.
One dog was taken in by a neighbor to protect it from the chaotic scene and is now in the custody of Alpena County Animal Control.
Crews couldn’t save the other dog, named Coco.
A man wanted in connection with the fire remains on the run and police agencies are trying to track him down after neighbors on Wednesday told police they saw a man climb out a back window of the house and smelled gasoline before the structure went up in flames.
The suspect is described as white, in his late 40s, and balding.
After being administered oxygen, receiving CPR, and being rushed to a veterinarian for more advanced medical care, Coco, an adult pitbull, succumbed to its injuries from the smoke in the fire.
Despite the sad outcome, local first responders said Thursday they did everything they could to save the dog and return it to its family.
Alpena Township Fire Chief Mark Hansen said that, while firefighters were fighting the blaze and executing a search, Alpena firefighters Caleb Borchard and Jim Bolanowski found the animal in a bedroom in a part of the home that wasn’t overcome by fire.
Hansen said the two firefighters brought the dog, which was unresponsive, outside the structure and laid it in the yard, where Hansen, Alpena Township firefighter Chris Stephens, and Bolanowski administered oxygen with a specially designed, cone-shaped mask for animals and proceeded with CPR. The township carries the special ventilator in its fire truck, Hansen said.
When the dog came out, it was lifeless, Hansen said, and it was his first time administering CPR to a canine. He said the trio of firefighters were able to get the dog’s heart beating, and then Alpena County Animal Control Deputy Michelle Reid arrived and whisked the animal off to Sunrise Veterinary Clinic, which was about two miles away.
“We all worked hard, hoping the dog would survive,” Hansen said. “It would have been nice to have a better outcome, that’s for sure.”
Reid said she received a call from a firefighter at the scene of the blaze, seeking assistance for the dog. She hustled to the fire and saw the motionless dog with the firefighters working on it. Reid said she did a quick assessment of the pitbull and then scooped it up and ran to her patrol car and rushed to the vet.
“The dog’s eyes were fixed and focused and it had a faint heartbeat,” she said. “When I got to the vet, I literally yelled I needed help and they ran and took it into the back. The firefighters did an amazing job doing the CPR, and I can’t give them enough credit. They did everything they could to save it.”
Reid said veterinarians Larissa Digue and Brandi Stone also did everything in their power to save Coco, who had inhaled a great deal of smoke.
Alpena Fire Chief Rob Edmonds said local firefighters usually make an effort to find, protect, and save animals when they can. He said Alpena fire trucks also have pet resuscitation kits in case they are needed.
A resuscitation kit provides the animal a continuous and accurate direct flow of pure oxygen that makes recovery quicker and more effective. Specially designed masks can be used on conscious pets suffering from smoke inhalation and pets that need to be resuscitated after losing consciousness from exposure to toxic fumes.
Edmonds said it is always a judgment call when determining how and when to save an animal, but his department always tries to go the extra mile when it can.
“Obviously, human life takes precedence, but, when there isn’t a human that needs our help, we try to save a pet with every means we have,” Edmonds said. “We are limited in what we can do, though. We can’t administer IVs and don’t have medications that are right for the animal, but we do what we can.”