Help for pets caught in fires

Last year, Pets at Home gifted an initial 75 masks to UK fire stations. These donations proved to be so successful, that the business decided to repeat the activity for 2017.

Store manager at Pets at Home Dunstable, Susan Beeton, said: “We know that the apparatus we donated last year has been put to good use and is helping hardworking firefighters rescue pets and hopefully save lives. It’s hoped that this second batch will continue this important work right here in Dunstable.”

Brian Lockyer from Smokey Paws said: “We urge members of the public and other businesses to support our campaign and join us to get a set of the masks on each of the 3,000 fire engines in the UK. Every pet deserves the best chance of survival and we know these masks save lives.”

Pets at Home and Smokey Paws conducted a survey of 2,500 UK pet owners and found that 12 per cent of Brits have been involved in a house fire and that a quarter of victims lost a pet in the incident. Just 55 per cent of those surveyed have an emergency escape plan in case of fire and 21 per cent failed to factor their pet into their escape plan; that’s despite almost a quarter stating their pet is the family member they’d save first from a fire.

Pets at Home VIP Lifelines, vip.petsathome.com/Club.

For more information about Smokey Paws and how to nominate your local fire service to receive the apparatus, visit: smokeypaws.co.uk.