Fire Safety Month: We Joined the "Bark 10-4" Campaign

October is National Fire Safety Month and along with all the firefighters and fire trucks that have been rolling out to community schools to teach children about fire awareness and safety, it’s also a good time to think about fire emergencies for our pets. 

Launched this month is “Bark10-4,” whose goal it is to help fire departments nationwide obtain the much needed pet oxygen mask. 

Pictured here, Harley our blog “fire dog” model, is all dressed and ready to assist in spreading the word about pet oxygen masks. According to Bark10-4, “More than 500,000 pets are affected by fires each year; and over 40,000 pets each year die of smoke asphyxiation.” 

 

Let’s try to lower those numbers. To do so, I’d like to expand upon the topic of pet CPR that I touched on several blogs back. Let’s run through this I-hope-it-never-happens scenario: There is a fire emergency and your pet is overcome by smoke inhalation. You’ve performed CPR and the fire department has arrived. Here is the big question…do they have a pet oxygen mask? 

If “I’m not sure” is your answer, then why not give them a call and find out. If they don’t have one, ask if they would welcome a donation of one for each truck in the department. Then, through either a personal donation or gather some community pet owners and businesses together to raise funds to purchase the pet oxygen masks and donate them so that every fire truck in your community is equipped with one. We did, and discovered that while a neighboring town does have the masks, our own city fire department does not. I am currently joining with my husband's area business to change that for the better, and will post photos at a later date.

So check in with local fire departments – paid and volunteer – to see if they have a need for the pet masks. The pet’s life you safe could be your neighbor’s or even your very own.

For more info on masks, visit the following sites:

 

 PetMask is a not-for-profit site "created in 2008 by a then 10-year-old girl named  Monica to raise money to purchase special Pet Rescue & Resuscitation Oxygen Masks to be donated."

PetsAmerica is a non-profit organization "that saves the lives of pets and the people who love them" by providing educational programs about emergency preparedness and resources for disaster response."