PORT ANGELES — Clallam County pets, from a rabbit to a Great Dane, now have a better chance of surviving a house fire thanks to a business owner and dog trainer.
Paul Collins, owner of Enviroclean NW and a dog trainer, recently organized a donation drive to purchase five pet oxygen mask kits for local use after hearing of a donation of 20 such masks to the Seattle Fire Department in July.
The masks are going to the Port Angeles Fire Department; Clallam County Fire District No. 2, which protects county areas surrounding Port Angeles; and Clallam County Fire District No. 4, located in the Joyce area.
“It’s the least I can do for my community. People love their fur babies,” Collins said.
Each kit comes with a small, medium and large face piece that is shaped to fit a snout and can be used to aid animals overcome by carbon monoxide or smoke inhalation.
The shape of the masks are designed to fit on an animal muzzle, but otherwise they are nearly identical to those used for humans, Collins said.
Each mask can be used several times before they must be replaced, he said.
Collins works with dogs daily and uses a highly trained dog to detect toxic molds for his business.
His newest dog, Isa, a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois, is trained to detect 18 types of toxic molds and is also a trained personal protection dog, he said.
Isa is special to him, he said, and if something happened in his home, he would hope that Isa could be saved.
Collins said fire officials he spoke to said fire departments have to prioritize their budgets, and pet oxygen masks are something fire departments usually want but other expenses take a higher priority.
He approached several other business owners for help in purchasing the $150 masks and received donations from Common Grounds, Strait Orthopedic & McGovern Therapy Specialists, Smugglers Landing, Beauty by Vanessa and Runs With Scissors.
“These businesses stepped up. These were not small donations,” Collins said.
Mask kits have been delivered to the Port Angeles Fire Department and Fire District No. 2, and he said he plans to visit Joyce later this week to present Fire District No. 4 with their mask set.
Collins said his next project is to gather donations from Sequim-area businesses to buy masks for Clallam County Fire District No. 3 and then later move the project to Jefferson County businesses and fire departments.
He said he did not yet know how many masks Sequim fire officials want or need.
The target is to eventually get one pet mask kit on each medical rig in every fire district on the North Olympic Peninsula, he said.
He said he plans for donations to stay in the community where they were made.
Donations can be made for more masks by phoning Collins at 360-670-4595.
Port Angeles already had some masks, but the new ones are a good supplement to those they had, said Port Angeles Fire Lt. Mike Sanders.
It is rare to need a pet mask, and Sanders said he didn’t know of any instance of their use.
While no official statistics exist for the number of pets that die in fires, it is thought an estimated 40,000 to 150,000 pets perish annually, according Invisible Fence and Project Breathe. Most of those deaths are due to smoke inhalation.
In Port Angeles, a fire in a home at 218 E. Lopez Ave. last Wednesday killed Patrick L. Lewis, 63, and 12 of 13 dogs in the house.
The masks carried by the Port Angeles Fire Department were not used in that fire, as the only dog who survived did not need it, Sanders said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5070, or at arice@peninsuladailynews.com.
