Pet oxygen masks donated to Beaver County firefighters after recent blaze

A fire department in Beaver County now has the best tools available that could save the lives of pets when every second matters.

"We go to these fires; our foremost thought is the structure and the family inside. But equally as important is going to be the pets that are inside that structure also. They may not have the ability to escape in a timely fashion," said William Brucker, Center Township's fire chief.

Center Township Fire Rescue is ready to help them breathe. They received a donation of three oxygen kits made just for our furry best friends, which included different masks for animals of all sizes.

"Little gerbils, mice, even birds, so we can have a mask to fit anything. These are pretty small, so they're going to be able to fit over anything you need all the way up to the largest dogs," said Leonard Bello, a sales representative with Invisible Fence of Pittsburgh.

The donation is from Invisible Fence of Pittsburgh through its Project Breathe program. Bello said the company donated pet masks to Center Township crews about 15 years ago.

After two dogs died in a recent fire in nearby Monaca, Brucker knew it was time for an upgrade.

"Unfortunately, we had an unsuccessful fire with two losses in a nearby community, and it just brought awareness back to us that we need to be prepared for these moments because anyone's pet is anyone's family," said Brucker. "We tried to resuscitate the household pet. There was two lost in that event, and we did try our best with the medical masks and the SCBA mask. And then later on into the incident we discovered that there was a pet O2 mask available, but at that time, it was deemed unresuscitable."

Standard human oxygen masks aren't shaped to fit an animal's snout. Brucker said all of its frontline engines are now equipped with the new pet O2 masks, and they'll be prepared to use them quickly on beloved cats, dogs and exotic pets after they inhale too much smoke.

"We want to be there right at the front line with these guys if anything happens," Bello said.

About 40,000 pets die in house fires each year in the U.S., mostly from smoke inhalation, and roughly 500,000 more are affected, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.  

The Center Township Fire Rescue members also learned how to use the masks properly and received training at a pet CPR/first aid class this week. They trained alongside some members of the Monaca Fire Department and an EMT class from CCBC. The pet first aid class was hosted by Medic Rescue. 

Having the proper training and the tools will ensure that they can work their hardest to save every single family member during emergencies.

"If I needed to save my daughter, needed to save my dog, I want the same amount of equipment available to do that," Bello said.

"We need to be there for not only our residents, to save their property, but save lives whether it's their own family or their pets that are their family," Brucker said.

Invisible Fence's Project Breathe has donated more than 27,000 pet oxygen mask kits to fire departments and first responder organizations across the U.S. and Canada. It relaunched the program in honor of its 20th year and in celebration of National Fire Prevention Month this October.

Departments interested in receiving a kit can reach out to Invisible Fence at ProjectBreathe@invisiblefence.com or go online.