Ind. Agency Receives Pet Oxygen Masks

March 29--SHARPSVILLE -- The Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department and Sharpsville Ambulance Service are now equipped to treat pets suffering from smoke inhalation thanks to a donation of two pet oxygen mask kits from Invisible Fence of Central Indiana.

The donation, according to an Invisible Fence Brand press release, is part of a program called Project Breathe which has the goal to equip every fire station in the United States and Canada with pet oxygen masks.

The Sharpsville Ambulance Service and Volunteer Fire Department joins other Tipton County fire departments including the Tipton Fire Department, Kempton Fire & Rescue and the Wildcat Township Volunteer Fire Department in being equipped with the masks.

According to the Fire Chief of the Sharpsville Volunteer Fire Department Paul Kingery, the department has encountered situations in the past when the masks would have been handy.

"We've had multiple times when we've pulled pets out of houses, and not really had the right equipment. We could use our human equipment but it doesn't really fit -- doesn't work too well," said Kingery, noting that they haven't experienced pets dying from smoke inhalation.

Kempton Fire & Rescue previously contacted Invisible Fence Brand and became equipped with pet oxygen masks in January, prompting the Sharpsville Department to do the same.

Tom Grindstaff, vice president and EMT for the Sharpsville Ambulance Service and medical assistant for Kempton Fire & Rescue, said he heard about Invisible Fence Brand's Project Breathe, and he was the one to contact them about bringing the masks to Kempton.

"We had pets before ... and anymore pets are like a part of the family, so if there's something we can do to salvage a pet then we'll do that also," said Grindstaff.

After Kempton was set up with a couple masks, Grindstaff reached out to the company again, to see if they could also bring the masks to Sharpsville.

They got one kit to the fire department and one to the ambulance service, with each kit being capable of serving a variety of animals. A kit comes outfitted with three sizes, said Grindstaff, to accommodate different animals. The mask is somewhat cone shaped, and fits snugly over the muzzle of a dog to get oxygen into its nose and mouth, he said.

It was a free process, said Kingery, and Invisible Fence Brand personnel stopped by to train them on how to use the masks. The process of using the pet masks is basically the same as a traditional oxygen mask, he said, but the oxygen pressure is altered to be better suited for animals.

A press release from Invisible Fence Brand says that the number of pets that die in fires is not a statistic kept by the U.S. Fire Administration. However, through researching industry websites and sources, they said an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 pets die in fires each year, mostly from smoke inhalation.

Invisible Fence Brand has set up a website, www.invisiblefence.com/O2, where local fire personnel can make a request for their own departments. So far, they've given over 12,400 masks to fire stations scattered across the U.S. and Canada, and over 10,000 pets have reportedly been saved, according to the Invisible Fence website.

Grindstaff and Kingery both said their services haven't had to use the masks since acquiring them this month, but they're trained and ready for a time when they might need them.

"We've got them on hand, we know where they're at and they're ready to go," said Grindstaff.

Cody Neuenschwander can be reached at 765-454-8570 or by email at cody@kokomotribune.com

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