Four cats and one dog were saved from a blaze by hero firefighters thanks to tiny oxygen masks.
The crew was called the garage of a house that went up in flames.
But after extinguishing the initial fire, the firefighters had another important role to fulfil.
READ MORE: Tube driver accused of being ‘drunk on the job’
To save the pets who were still trapped within the property.
Firefighter Luke Byrd said: “After the fire was mostly extinguished, we were tasked to do a secondary search of the structure.
“We already knew that there were pets inside, so we were already on the thought process of ‘Oh we got to look out for animals too’.
“Once we were able to find the cat in the back bedroom hiding, we were able to get the cat and bring it outside where firefighter Walsh administered the oxygen.”
The oxygen was able to be administered correctly thanks to the presence of two differently sized masks in the department’s apparatus, which gives pets of all sizes the best chance of survival.
Fellow firefighter Eric Walsh, of North Port Fire and Rescue, told ABC7: “We have two different sizes, a large mask and a small mask, so the small mask was used for the cat.
“We put the cat’s face into the mask and it just continues to free flow oxygen so that way the cat can get fresh air instead of the smoke inhalation that it was just in.”
The fire took place in North Port, south of Tampa, Florida, US, as reported on Need To Know.
The homeowner was said to have been so overwhelmed that her pets were saved that she burst into tears.
She was also reported to have offered the firefighters hugs as a sign of her gratitude that the first responders were able to resuscitate all five of her pets from smoke inhalation.
Veterinarian Ashley McName stressed the importance of firefighters having pet masks to hand when tackling blazers.
She said: “It can be the difference between life and death, getting that timely oxygen support.”
A representative for Northport Fire and Rescue explained that they have had the pet masks in their kit for a decade now.
Chief executive Dave Ingalls said: “All of our apparatus carry these devices in two different sizes to ensure that the mask fits appropriately to the pet.
“We have been carrying these devices on our apparatus for about 10 years.”
READ MORE: Amateur acrobat, 18, dies after breaking neck doing frontflip
