[Dailydrool] Pets in a fire

[Deb Good]

Having been married to a volunteer firefighter for the last 18+ years, I can tell you that in a fire the first priority for the firefighters is to make sure that all the people are out safely.  If the people are out of the building that is burning, the firefighters will try to rescue your pets, unless of course it is too unsafe for them to enter the burning structure themselves.  One thing I can say is that fire departments are grossly underfunded and if you live in an area (as I do) where they are all volunteer, donations are greatly appreciated.  Those trucks cost upwards of half a million dollars not to mention all the equipment they carry.  There are oxygen masks that can be put on firetrucks to specifically fit pets, but with the cost of everything else, many departments don't have the pet masks on their trucks-they simply can't afford them.  If you are worried about a fire and your pets, perhaps this would be a good item to donate to your
 local fire department.  One website I found (http://petsamerica.org/programs.html) sells the masks for $95 for a set of three in varying sizes.  I say, use the window stickers.  One case my husband told me about: the home owners were not home when the fire broke out, the firefighters did not know that there were pets inside (no stickers on the windows) and during "cleanup" found the family dog and cat behind a chair in the livingroom-they had been overtaken by the smoke-had there been a sticker on the window the guys would have known to look for them...
 
Deb


      
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