PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC (WBTW) – One group is thinking about our furry friends, working to help animals caught in a fire.
Three Midway Fire Rescue stations will receive a handful of pet oxygen masks to help save the lives of animals. The masks will be donated by Invisible Fence as part of their Project Breathe.
While the U.S. Fire Administration doesn’t keep an official statistic, sources estimate 40,000 to 150,000 pets die each year in fires, mostly from smoke inhalation.
According to their website, this program of pet oxygen masks has saved about two hundred pets from fire and smoke inhalation so far.
The masks will be donated to the fire department on Thursday.
“The way that we view pets is that they are family members,” said Tyler Espenshade of Invisible Fence. “Our objective is to make sure they are safe at all times”.
In the past 12 years, Invisible Fence has given away 24,000 pet oxygen masks. They have donated more than 2,100 masks to more than 700 fire and rescue stations in the southeast.
