According to a report, a group of British firefighters is being hailed as a hero for rescuing two cats from a fire and putting on specially designed pet oxygen masks on their faces.
Firefighters responded around 3pm on Saturday to the fire in Runcorn, an industrial town south-east of Liverpool, where they fought the flames on the ground floor of the two-story building, Liverpool reported Echo.
The human occupants were unharmed, but both cats needed medical treatment after the test.
Photos released by the Runcorn fire station show two of the smoke consumers cradling cats with towels while administering oxygen from pet-friendly masks.
“Thanks to our equipment provided by Smokey Paws and the training of the Willows Veterinary Group, we were able to administer oxygen before transporting the cats to the vets,” the department said in a post on Facebook.
Non-profit Smokey Paws provides special masks to UK fire services.
The group said on its website that “46% of households in the UK have pets and with over 40,000 fires a year, it is an unfortunate fact that pets die from smoke inhalation”.
An incident report on the fire released by Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service said four firefighters using respirators extinguished the blaze.
An update released Sunday said the kittens were doing well.
Rapid-action firefighters received praise for their perfect response.
“Well done and thank you for saving these beautiful little souls,” one Facebook user wrote.
Another said, “Well done red watch, you all deserve a medal.”