Kentish Express Ashford & District
Oxygen mask helps dog breathe easy after rescue
A dog was rescued from a house blaze and treated with a special pet oxygen mask.
Charlie the cocker spaniel was trapped in a house in The Street, in Mersham, at about 4.48pm on Wednesday of last week when a fire started in the kitchen.
Firefighters were at the house in minutes after being alerted by an automatic fire alarm.
They borrowed a key from a neighbour, smelt smoke through the letter box and let themselves into the smoke-logged house.
Crew manager Tim Hanley, said they found the pet in the kitchen.
He said: “The room was full of smoke and we saw the dog who was very distressed.
“He had marks around his nose and mouth where he had obviously inhaled a lot of smoke.”
The team extinguished the small fire, which they believe had been caused by a tea towel accidentally left on an Aga.
Three-and-a-half-year-old Charlie was quickly taken out of the building and treated with a Smokey Paws pet oxygen mask.
The dog’s owner, who had not been home at the time, was contacted and Charlie was taken to the vets to be checked over.
Mr Hanley added: “It was fantastic that they had a smoke alarm because without it, we would not have been alerted until the fire was much bigger.
“It could have been much worse and Charlie may not have been so lucky.”
While at the home, firefighters also fitted another smoke alarm on the ground floor and gave home safety advice to neighbours.
The Smokey Paws pet masks had been donated to Ashford fire station by a charity just six months ago.
Mr Hanley said that has meant firefighters no longer have to “make do” with human masks and can now treat suffering pets properly.