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Tonya Papanikolas ReportingWhen a house burns down, firefighters work hard to save any people who may be inside. But with their job, they also encounter a lot of pets with smoke inhalation and fire-related injuries.
Now firefighters will be using a new tool to help animals in distress.
They're oxygen masks for animals. They're smaller than the human ones, where the opening is bigger and designed to fit the mouth and nose. It fits an animal's face and seals in the oxygen better.
A woman donated a set to the Salt Lake fire department, and then the department decided to buy 19 more.
In January, a two-month old schnauzer, Rosie, got trapped inside a burning home in Salt Lake. Fire crews were able to rescue the dog and then revive her with a little oxygen.
Dave Herrick/ Pet Owner: "A firefighter found her. He got her, got her heart going again. I really appreciate him for doing that. That's great."
Firefighters say saving animals is part of their job.
Cpt. Tony Allred, Salt Lake City Fire Dept: "From dogs to cats to iguanas to boa constrictors."
David Wharff, Special Operations Coordinator, Salt Lake City Fire Department: "I've probably had 10 or 12 animals over the years that I've actually revived."
But until now, firefighters had to use equipment meant for humans, or do pet cpr, like David Wharff did a few years ago with a dog that wasn't breathing.
David Wharff: "Seeing something in his eyes that looked like he was still there. So I just started to do mouth to snout with him."
The dog survived, but Wharff is happy that the Salt Lake City fire department has now bought oxygen masks made just for animals.
Dorrell Henderson, EMT Coordinator, Salt Lake City Fire Department: "We decided that as a fire department, we needed one of these sets on each engine."
Each set of masks comes in three sizes to fit different animals, with tubes that attach to oxygen. If the pet is unconscious, the apparatus goes even farther.
Dorrell Henderson: "We can actually breathe for them and actually do complete cpr on a pet."
In Daytona Beach, Florida, firefighters used these same masks to rescue a dog.
Cpt. Tony Allred: "With some aggressive respiratory care, these animals sometimes make some amazing bounce backs, some amazing recoveries."
