Post by Die Fledermaus on Aug 8, 2006 21:37:15 GMT -4
From today's NY Post.
>> August 8, 2006 -- New York's Bravest helped save New York's most precious yesterday after an early-morning fire swept through a Queens pet store, trapping puppies, kittens, parakeets, hamsters and guinea pigs.
A firefighter held an oxygen mask over the face of one cute kitten outside Bob's Tropical Pet Center on Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven, where neighbors pitched in to save critters. The blaze sent 11 firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries.
Although several birds, a kitten and at least one puppy died from smoke inhalation, at least 100 other animals were saved in a rescue effort worthy of Noah and his ark.
After firefighters got the reptiles and rabbits to the sidewalk, locals took some of them inside to get them away from the smoke. Others used their cars to rush animals to the Howard Beach Animal Clinic on Cross Bay Boulevard.
"We thought everything perished," said Robbin Triano, 34, whose parents own the pet shop. "When we got here at 3 a.m., there were people out here saying, 'We have the animals.' It was unbelievable."
The pet store has been a neighborhood fixture for 30 years after moving from Brooklyn
A Fire Department spokesman said the blaze was sparked by an electrical short in the front of the building, where there are usually doggies in the window. Luckily, the pooches were put in the basement before the store was closed. "That's what saved them," Triano said.
Neighbor Sandra Gold heard fire engines and bolted toward the store.
"I said to the firefighter, 'You've got to get the animals out. They're going to burn,' " Gold said.
Moments later, the firefighters were lining the sidewalk with cages.
"We took them out of their cages, cleaned off the soot and gave them food and water," Gold said. "We used my daughter's asthma machine to give them oxygen." <<
SAFE AND SOUND: Vet nurse Jackie Fraucin holds Smokey, one of the animals saved from a Queens pet-shop fire yesterday.
>> August 8, 2006 -- New York's Bravest helped save New York's most precious yesterday after an early-morning fire swept through a Queens pet store, trapping puppies, kittens, parakeets, hamsters and guinea pigs.
A firefighter held an oxygen mask over the face of one cute kitten outside Bob's Tropical Pet Center on Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven, where neighbors pitched in to save critters. The blaze sent 11 firefighters to the hospital with minor injuries.
Although several birds, a kitten and at least one puppy died from smoke inhalation, at least 100 other animals were saved in a rescue effort worthy of Noah and his ark.
After firefighters got the reptiles and rabbits to the sidewalk, locals took some of them inside to get them away from the smoke. Others used their cars to rush animals to the Howard Beach Animal Clinic on Cross Bay Boulevard.
"We thought everything perished," said Robbin Triano, 34, whose parents own the pet shop. "When we got here at 3 a.m., there were people out here saying, 'We have the animals.' It was unbelievable."
The pet store has been a neighborhood fixture for 30 years after moving from Brooklyn
A Fire Department spokesman said the blaze was sparked by an electrical short in the front of the building, where there are usually doggies in the window. Luckily, the pooches were put in the basement before the store was closed. "That's what saved them," Triano said.
Neighbor Sandra Gold heard fire engines and bolted toward the store.
"I said to the firefighter, 'You've got to get the animals out. They're going to burn,' " Gold said.
Moments later, the firefighters were lining the sidewalk with cages.
"We took them out of their cages, cleaned off the soot and gave them food and water," Gold said. "We used my daughter's asthma machine to give them oxygen." <<
SAFE AND SOUND: Vet nurse Jackie Fraucin holds Smokey, one of the animals saved from a Queens pet-shop fire yesterday.
I've seen a lot of shows on Animal Planet where police or fire fighters go to help save the animals, when it's normally their job to help people. Great story!