Stamford fire and EMS reunite with Cornell vets one week after 15 pets pulled from burning home
On Sept. 12, fire crews encountered a first after responding to a basement fire in a multifamily home: 15 pets in need of rescue.
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Over a dozen Stamford firefighters and EMS personnel reported to Cornell University Veterinary Specialists Thursday morning, not for a crisis but to recognize the other team members who were part of last week's big save.
On Sept. 12, fire crews encountered a first after responding to a basement fire in a multifamily home: 15 pets in need of rescue.
"We were just shocked at the number because they just kept on coming, one after another after another," said Dep. Chief Eric Lorenz, of the Stamford Fire Department.
Nine dogs and six cats were pulled from the smoke-filled home. Lorenz told News 12 firefighters immediately started to render aid, using specialized equipment called a pet resuscitator.
"It's basically like a specialized oxygen mask that will go over the muzzle of the animal," Lorez explained. "It's one of those pieces of equipment that stays on the engine and is checked regularly, but it's rarely every used. And what was unique about this incident was we not only needed them, we needed all of them at the same time."
Capt. Bill Ackley, of Stamford EMS, said as soon as he arrived on scene and learned about the number of animals in distress, he called two more ambulances.
"I can't commend our people enough for, you know, a really nontraditional situation. They hopped in, did whatever they could," Ackley recalled.
While the animals were being worked on, Mechanical Supervisor Frank Docimo, of Stamford fire, made a call.
"My first thought was this is going to be more than care in the driveway. The pets are going to have to go somewhere and somewhere close because a lot of them were not in great shape," Docimo explained. "My first thought was Cornell. They're big. They're in the city, so I grabbed my cellphone."
Docimo ended up speaking with Dr. Meg Murray, a staff criticalist at CUVS.
"I basically told him, 'Hey, look. Let's bring them all here and at least triage them and see how they're all doing,'" recalled Murray. "Cornell University Veterinary Specialists, we are a level one veterinary emergency and critical care center, so this is what we're set up to do."
Firefighters and medics continued to work on the animals as they transported them to CUVS. Murray said eight dogs and two cats were admitted, but one of the cats couldn't be saved upon arrival.
"Everyone on hand just jumped on board immediately to start working on each and every one of the animals to give them individualized attention," Murray told News 12. "The firefighters did an incredible job on scene getting those animals oxygen."
Their injuries were significant, according to Murray, who estimated the pets were exposed to smoke for 45 minutes to an hour. Staff worked round the clock through the night to stabilize them. Murray said CUVS had never had such an influx of critical animals from one event.
"But we have the staff. We're trained to do this, so we were able to take it on very successfully and luckily all the animals that were hospitalized are getting the opportunity to go home and thrive, and we're thrilled," Murray stated.
On Thursday morning, all the animals had been released to their owners except three dogs, two of which were set to go home later that day. It was a reason for everyone involved in this team save to smile.
"Everybody pitched in to do what we needed to do and make sure we saved lives, and while they weren't human, they're just as important to people," Ackley said.
"I think it strengthened the relationship between us, meaning the emergency services in Stamford, and the people here at Cornell, and I think it's only going to lead to further training opportunities," Lorenz added. "Our firefighters are equipped with this special resuscitation equipment, but none of us have every received pet CPR or pet resusiation. We were basically taking the skills we learned as emergency medical technicians on humans and applying them to an animal, so I think this will foster a good relationship that will definitely benefit everybody going forward in the future."
CUVS relies on support from the community for situations like this. They've set up a website, www.cuvscommunitystrong.com, where people can donate towards the care of these animals, given the magnitude of the care and the tragic circumstances of the owners.
