Redmond Fire & Rescue receives donated pet oxygen mask kits from Central Oregon Invisible Fence

(Update: Adding video, comments from Redmond fire marshal, donor co.)

'One of our biggest passions is to keep all of our animals safe'

REDMOND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Redmond Fire & Rescue recently responded to a house fire and helped stabilize a dog and a cat using specialized oxygen masks. The agency says about 10 to 15 minutes after the oxygen masks were put on, the pets woke up.

Until now, Redmond Fire had just one mask kit for pets, but that changed Monday.

On Monday, the agency received three donated bags of nine total pet oxygen masks, courtesy of Central Oregon Invisible Space.

We spoke with Invisible Space owner Becky Grindeland about why they wanted to donate the masks.

"One of our biggest passions is to keep all of our animals safe," she said. "Of course, we love all of our furry family members. And anything we can do to help out any one of them, especially in a time of need, we will."

The masks will give pets fresh oxygen, in the event they are trapped in a structure fire.

RFD Fire Marshal Tom Mooney was excited to be benefiting from the donation.

"So at least with these kits now, we'll have one on each engine," he said. "And each kit contains three masks: small, medium and large. And then we'll be able to apply that oxygen right away."

Redmond Fire crews have deployed pet oxygen masks twice already this year, inspiring the idea to get more.

"So we had a structure fire last weekend in which we had to pull out a cat and a dog and we were able to successfully use the one kit," Mooney said. "But because we did have two animals going at the same time, fortunately they were of different size so they require different size masks.

"But it got me thinking: Hey, what happens if we have more than two animals inside of a structure? We don't have enough masks to go around.

"But it's not just cats and dogs that can be saved with the oxygen masks. These will fit on anywhere from as small as a mouse all the way up to a medium-sized horse" Mooney told NewsChannel 21.

All three Redmond fire engines, along with the battalion chief, will have pet oxygen masks available at their discretion. "If the unfortunate happens, we're prepared and ready now with the proper tools," the fire marshal said.

In an emergency, the masks are expected to stabilize a pet in under 15 minutes.

Along with Redmond Fire, all Bend Fire and Rescue engines are also equipped with the same gear, in case of an emergency.