FIRE CREWS in Carmarthen will be equipped with oxygen masks for animals caught in fires, which could mean ‘the difference between life and death’ for family pets in the area.
The set of three masks, which cost £90, is the eighth such set issues in Wales, following trials in parts of south Wales and Powys.
The masks, which have been imported from the US, have been donated by Smokey Paws – a notfor- profit organisation founded by Americans Lyn Carberry and her husband Brian Lockyer.
After the couple moved to the UK three years ago, Lynn was surprised to find that there were no oxygen masks for pets supplied to fire brigades in this country, so they founded Smokey Paws to import the masks.
They differ from human masks as they are designed to fit around an animal’s snout, making them much more effective.
“Pets only get 10 to 15% of the oxygen if they use human masks,” Lynn said.
“With the animal masks they get 85 to 90%, so it makes a real difference when they try to bring them around.
“We do this as a labour of love on the side – we are not expecting to make any money from it. We just feel the UK fire services should have them.”
Alison Thomas, from Cats Protection’s Carmarthenshire branch, who started a local campaign to fund the masks said: “As a charity, cat welfare is at the heart of everything we do and this sounded like a really worthwhile aspect of cat care to raise money for.
“I found out there were no masks in our area, so we decided to run a specific appeal to fund a set for our local fire station.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated in order to make this a reality as they could mean the difference between life and death for a cat caught in a fire.”
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