Fire Department receives donation of “pet masks”

Aug. 1, 2014  PLYMOUTH VOICE.

Plymouth Michigan News

First responders in the City of Plymouth, will become some of the best-equipped in the nation to save a pet’s life. That’s because Invisible Fence Brand of NW Ohio and Invisible Fence of Ann Arbor donated three pet oxygen mask kits to the Fire Department at Plymouth City Hall.  The kits provide Firefighters with a variety of sizes of “pet masks” to allow them to select the most appropriate size and type mask for the animal.

This donation is just a small part of Invisible Fence Brand’s Project Breath, which was established with the goal of equipping every fire station in America and Canada with pet oxygen masks. These masks allow firefighters to give oxygen to pets who are suffering from smoke inhalation when they are rescued from fires and often save pets’ lives.

Invisible Fence Brand has donated a total of more than 10,000 pet oxygen masks to fire stations all over the U.S. and Canada throughout the life of the program. A reported 120+ pets have been saved by the donated masks so far, including a dog saved on May 25th in Akron, Ohio.

“When a family suffers the tragedy of a fire, lives are turned upside down,” said Albert Lee, Director of Invisible Fence Brand. “Pets are valued family members, so we want families to know that their pet can be cared for if tragedy strikes.”

“We realize that humans are the first-priority, but in many cases, pets can be saved if firefighters have the right equipment,” said Lee. “Project Breathe is simply a way of giving firefighters the tools necessary to save
pets’ lives.”

Plymouth is now joining the ranks of cities like Denver, Cleveland and Memphis, who have all received donated pet oxygen masks from Project Breathe. Although the number of pets that die in fires in not an official statistic kept by the U.S. Fire Administration, industry web sites and sources have cited an estimated 40,000 to 150, succumbing to smoke inhalation. In most states, emergency responders are unequipped to deal with the crisis. The loss is terrible for the family, heart wrenching for firefighters.

The company has set up a website, www.invisiblefence.com/O2, where people or companies can support the effort.
 

Plymouth Voice.

Photo: Dayton Daily News