Saving the animals – pets receive life-saving oxygen treatment after fires

The cat in the arms of Dunbarton firefighter Tamara Bowne was in distress from the heat and smoke at the burning home on Park Avenue in Contoocook.

When the orange cat tinged with soot was pulled from the debris of the home, it was having trouble breathing, a common side effect of oxygen deprivation. Bowne draped an animal-specific oxygen mask over the cat’s face that she pulled from a Weare fire truck to help it breathe better and circulate oxygen through its body.

“Animals are often very lethargic from the smoke inhalation,” Bowne said. “We use a towel or a blanket to wipe off the soot and try to just keep them warm while we supply oxygen therapy until they can be transported to the vet.”

Bowne handed the cat off to a friend of the family at the end of the road who took the animal to the veterinarian to make sure it was alright.

Two other animals found in the home received the same treatment while one succumbed to the fire, Hopkinton Fire Chief Jeff Yale said.

Over the course of 10 to 15 minutes, Bowne administered oxygen to the animals ahead of transport, a method that’s become familiar at the scene of fires since the early 2000s. The masks are often donated by local organizations and animal lovers allowing fire trucks throughout Merrimack County to carry them for animal emergencies.

In the face of a fire, most animals hide somewhere they feel safe and can often back themselves into small spaces where rescuers later find them, unharmed, but often suffering from smoke inhalation and heatstroke.

“The majority of the rescues we make throughout our careers are going to be animals and a lot of effort goes into that to find them, get them and revive them afterward,” said Boscawen Fire Chief Timothy Kenney. “In my experiences, a high majority of the time, we save the animals.”

Besides the heat, inhaling smoke from a structure fire is nothing like inhaling smoke around a campfire. The red blood cells in the lungs are attacked by carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide being released from plastics and other materials burning inside the home that poison the body and strip it of oxygen.

“That’s why we say smoke detectors are by far the best thing to have in your house because it’s the smoke that will kill you,” Kenney said.

To perform oxygen therapy on scene, animals that are rescued from fires have to have a heartbeat for the oxygen to recirculate though their bodies. Though the oxygen helps revive the animals, they can remain lethargic and left in shock for hours after. Firefighters recommend bringing them to a local veterinarian for monitoring and further oxygen therapy, even if they appear fine.

“If you don’t make the attempt to help them, that might be the one little thing they’re missing,” Kenney said.