Fire! Does Your Local Fire Dept. Have Oxygen Masks For Cats?
Fire! Does Your Local Fire Dept. Have Oxygen Masks For Cats?
We never know when an emergency will strike but we can be informed. It’s National Emergency Preparedness Month.
We prepared for Tropical Storm Hermine but it turned out to be a non-event. We were not so lucky when Superstorm Sandy struck. That disaster made me a believer in being prepared well in advance.
One of the scariest emergencies is fire. Every second counts and smoke inhalation is deadly. A lucky cat survived a house fire this week in Iowa because someone donated pet-sized oxygen masks to their local fire department. Check out the inspiring video of Cleo the cat.
I assumed my local fire department was equipped to treat pets, but what I found out surprised me. Pet oxygen masks come in different sizes and only be used once. They cost @ $65.00 each. A local advocacy group recently held a fundraising car wash in my town to replenish our local supply of pet oxygen masks. I’m sorry I missed the event and grateful for their effort. I dug deeper and found out our two local fire departments received in June, a federal grant of over $440K to purchase equipment. There was no mention of equipment for pets. You can be sure I’ll be following up to find out.
PLEASE check with you local fire department and find out if they have oxygen masks for pets. If they don’t, consider buying and donating one or more. Or organize your own fundraiser, perhaps with the help of your local shelter. I hope this video will convince you to take action.
September is full of valuable awareness holidays.
Check out the great tips from the AVMA but most useful is an interactive map of every U.S. state and their animal disaster plans and resources.
The best time to take advantage of resources is when we’re calm and don’t need them.
Jot down relevant number and emails. Store digital and hard copies in an easy to find location with your extra emergency stickers to place on windows and doors. You can make your own with duct tape and permanent marker. Or order free ones from ASPCA (delivery is 6-8 weeks).
It’s Animal Pain Awareness Month. Do you know if your cat or dog is in pain? It’s not a substitute for veterinary services butcheck out the tips and this helpful infographic from
The International Veterinary Academy of Pain Management
We love our cats and it is after all, Happy, Healthy Cat Month. See tips from The CAtalyst Foundation.
Do you have any emergency tips from personal experience?
If so, please leave it in a comment. Stay safe dear friends.
14 Comments
Ellen Pilch
That is a good question, I need to look into that. I won’t leave my cats alone longer than 1/2 hour without a babysitter though just in case of a fire or a break in.
The Island Cats
We don’t know if our fire dept has masks. We’ll have to ask. Thanks for making us aware of this.
Darlene Arden, C.A.B.C.
This is an excellent topic, Layla. Thank you for bringing it to everyone’s attention!
Sometimes Cats Herd You
Many of the outlying counties in this area have pet oxygen masks, but we can’t find any information about our county having them! That’s something we need to look into more closely….
Sometimes Cats Herd You
After we posted this, the manpeep asked one of his friends who works as a firefighter, and our county DOES carry pet oxygen masks on the fire trucks. We’re so glad to know that we have that kind of protection!
The Swiss Cats
We didn’t know that emergency masks do exist for pets ! We’ll have to check with our local firehouse.
Kathryn
Oh my goodness.
I bet many small towns don’t have these. These would be such a life saver.
I bet people can start a movement to help firefighters get donations for this.
Brian
We are fortunate, our fire department has oxygen masks for us. We have the stickers in our front windows too!
skeeter and Izzy
Thanks for the great info! We definitely need to check into this in our small town.
This post is exactly why we love this blog so much!
Luvs
Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo & the Angels >^.o.^^..^<~
Note the oxygen mask on the first kitty!
Cathy Keisha
This post is so important. We’ll be checking with our local fire houses. Every day there’s a story and pic online of a fireman holding a cat or kitten that they rescued.
Cathy Keisha
BTW, I went to the link to check on my state’s emergency plan for pets and I got a dead link for NJ. Not your fault but I hope NJ has one.
ellen
I happen to be in Iowa, surprisingly most of the larger departments do have them although it is more left to the public to acquire the money for them to do so.
I also think they are trained to help animals I have seen one fire when several cats and dogs were saved using nose to mouth and one where they used a human sized mask, All or almost all have pets and they try their best to save them!
easy rider
we will offer to help our firefighters with buying them, hope they will understand how important such equipment can be…
Summer
My human and I will have to stop by our local firehouse and ask about that! We would be happy to pay to donate for one.