BRISBEN – “Many people consider their pets as a close and integral part of their family,” said Wayne Criddle, President and First Assistant Chief of the Brisben Fire Department. “When the unthinkable happens, emergency services have to do what they can for those pets.”

The Brisben Fire Department has taken a step toward assisting animals in need to the best of its ability by purchasing an O2 Fur Life Kit. The kit contains three oxygen masks, three oxygen air tubes, a kennel lead for animal control or restraint, animal incident reports for first responders, and instructional DVDs and reading materials with regard to the rules of CPR for cats and dogs. The kit also comes with “Pet Oxygen Masks on Board” decals, so that individuals will know what equipment is stocked with the kit – just in case.

Said Criddle, “With this system we can make effective attempts at resuscitating animals that are victims of house and barn fires.”

Criddle explained that without the system, first responders try to do what they can for the pets with the same equipment used on humans. The issue with that – he said – is cats, dogs and birds are not made the same way as people, so any human equipment used on pets is not as effective.

“The O2 Fur Life kit allows first responders to adapt artificial breathing equipment used on humans to work on our furry friends,” Criddle added.

The kit comes from the Wag'n O2 Fur Life Program. This program has three goals. First, the organization would like to have one pet oxygen mask in every fire and EMS department across North America. Its “medium term goal” is to place one pet oxygen mask in every fire and EMS vehicle in North America. The organization aspires to sustain the program through product development, training and awareness.

According to the organization, there are 25,947 fire departments and fire protection districts spread out in more than 400,000 stations. In a 2011 survey conducted by the National Association of State EMS Officials, there are 78,258 credentialized EMS vehicles in the United States. Approximately 400,000 home fires are reported annually, according to United States statistics. 62 percent of US households own at least one pet, according to a 2011-2012 APPA National Pet Owners’ Survey.