Firefighters’ use of oxygen mask credited with saving dog’s life

DURHAM – A family was displaced from a home on Broomsedge Way in Durham as a result of a fire Monday afternoon, according to fire officials. Their dog, a boxer named Bosco, was rescued by firefighters, who gave him oxygen on the way to Triangle Veterinary Referral Hospital on Morreene Road.

That quick action probably saved his life, Leetrice Lynn, an internal medicine and cardiology nurse at the animal hospital, said Tuesday.

Lynn said Bosco was in “bad shape” when he came in, but was doing much better Tuesday. She said they were weaning the 2-year-old dog off oxygen, and that he was eating and drinking.

She said the hospital plans to donate more animal oxygen masks to the Durham Fire Department to supplement the ones they already have, and will offer training classes for using the masks in the future.

Capt. Tony Barringer with Durham Fire Department Station No. 10, who was in the first fire engine to arrive on-scene of multiple units that responded, said no humans were injured in the fire.

The two children and one of the adults were not home, but one of the adults, the father, was working in the garage. He called 911 after smelling smoke and running around the house to see the fire in the living room.

Barringer said the home is uninhabitable because of severe downstairs fire and heat damage, and smoke and heat damage upstairs.

Fire officials said Bosco was in the living room where the fire started. Barringer said the dog was lying inside a crate, and he carried both dog and crate outside.

The dog was initially unresponsive, he said, but it started to respond to fire officials’ attempts at resuscitation before it was transported to the hospital on Morreene Road. A hospital official said Tuesday that because the family is displaced, the dog will be taken to his own veterinarian and will be boarded there until the family can figure out his living situation.

The family has relatives in the area, Barringer said, but they were provided with information about the American Red Cross in case they need emergency support services from the nonprofit.

Firefighters fought other fires in Durham Monday and over the weekend.

No one was injured in a fire that took place Monday morning at 4810 Southern Ave., said Capt. Sean Boone with the Durham Fire Department Station No. 4, although there was damage to the structure where the fire started.

The fire started in the bonus room above a two-car garage, Boone said. When firefighters arrived, the fire was fully involved.

The fire damaged a room, Boone said, and caused water damage to the garage. There was also damage to the vinyl siding of a wall of the home next to the garage. Boone said the fire was caused by a space heater.

A fire that took place Sunday night resulted in fire and smoke damage to a garage of the University Ford and University Kia dealership in Durham.

Durham Fire Department Deputy Chief Dan Curia said a call came in at 9:19 p.m. for the fire at 601 Willard St. Smoke was showing from the roofline when firefighters arrived, Curia said. They found a fire in one of the building bays.

Firefighters forced entry into the building and extinguished the fire quickly with minimum damage, Curia said. There were no injuries reported, but there was minor fire and smoke damage, and damage to some machines. No vehicles were damaged.

Rick Temple, service director for University Ford and University Kia, said the fire appeared to be caused by a newly installed water fountain located in an isolated area of the service department, which is in a separate building from the dealership’s showrooms.

“It was pretty well contained in a fairly small area,” Temple said. “There were a couple pieces of equipment that were burned, but nothing substantial.”

Temple said he was alerted to the fire by a burglar alarm set off by the fire. Police were dispatched to the scene as a result of the alarm, and the police called the fire department.

“It’ll just be a matter of clean-up, mostly, and we will have to purchase a couple of pieces of equipment that were pretty much destroyed by the fire, but the building was not really harmed in any major way,” Temple said. “[The fire department] did a good job, and we were very fortunate.”

On Christmas Eve, fire broke out at 200 Seven Oaks Road in Durham inside a vacant unit on the first floor of a two-story building of Carriage House Apartments.

Capt. Brian Eaton of the Durham Fire Department Station No. 2, who was acting battalion chief at the scene, said there were no injuries in the fire, and fire damage was contained to the single vacant unit.

Source:  The Herald-Sun