Maryland firefighters revive dog saved from burning home
The home sustained up to $100,000 in damage, fire officials told ABC News.
— -- Maryland firefighters were able to revive a dog they rescued from a burning home on Monday, officials told ABC News.
Firefighters with the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department were en route to a different call around 7:15 a.m. when they noticed smoke emerging from a home on the way to the call, Battalion Chief Donny Fletcher told ABC News.
When firefighters entered the home, the first thing they did was search for anyone inside, Fletcher said.
"We search for humans. We search for dogs. We search for everything," Fletcher, who described himself as a "dog guy," said.
Firefighters soon found the source of the fire in a bedroom. The dog -- a chihuahua -- was found inside of a crate in the bedroom next to where the fire originated, Fletcher said.
Once firefighters brought the dog crate outside, they realized the pup wasn't breathing, Fletcher said. They then gave him oxygen and used water to clear the soot from its airwaves.
"With some water, with some fresh air, with some vigorous rubbing, the dog started breathing on its own again and started coming around," Fletcher said.
In a video taken by Fletcher, emergency responders are seen tending to the chihuahua, who is wrapped up in a sheet.
The dog never "became angry or temperamental" with the first repsonders who were helping it but "laid there and panted," Fletcher said.
"It was kind of like, 'Hey, they're helping me. I'm going to let them keep helping me,'" Fletcher said.
No one was inside the home at the time of the fire. The dog's owner, who was working overnight when the fire broke out, thanked firefighters for saving her beloved pet when she arrived home, Fletcher said.
The house sustained about $80,000 to $100,000 in damage, Fletcher said, adding that there was a significant amount of heat and smoke damage.
No one else was inside the home at the time of the fire, Fletcher said. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
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