by Logan Gruber
operations@thenewsleaders.com
It all started when Sauk Rapids Firefighter Matt Heinen Jr. received a letter from his neighbor, Ruth Hinnenkamp.
“She sent me a copy of a news article from Maple Grove where they used an oxygen mask to save a pet’s life. She asked if we had these masks on our trucks,” Heinen recalled.
He said as soon as he saw the information, he found out how to fill out a grant request to receive a set of masks.
“This is the first grant I’ve been involved in,” Heinen said.
The mask is made to fit over the snout of a canine or feline companion. It isn’t for use in a fire, but afterward. An Ambu bag – or manual resuscitation bag, like the ones you see squeezing on TV to get oxygen into people’s lungs – or an oxygen tank can be affixed to the mask once the pet is out of harm’s way. Then, the first-responder lays down behind the pet and using both arms affixes the mask over the snout and begins to either squeeze the manual resuscitation bag or administer oxygen.
Although the number of pets that die in fires is not an official statistic kept by the U.S. Fire Administration, industry web sites and sources have cited an estimated 40,000-150,000 pets die in fires each year, most succumbing to smoke inhalation.
“We’ve rescued animals in my time on the department, but there hasn’t been a situation yet where we would have used this particular device,” Heinen said.
He has been on the Sauk Rapids Fire Department since 2008.
“It either wouldn’t have been necessary, or they would have been too far gone,” he added. “A lot of the equipment on our trucks . . . the less we have to use it the better. If we need it, we’ve got it.”
While human lives always come first, if pets can be saved they will be.
The masks will be placed in Unit 1, which is the first truck out on any fire call. It has a 750-gallon tank with a pumper.
Heinen
Heinen comes from a fire family. His father, Matthew Heinen Sr. was a firefighter, along with Heinen’s uncle, Francis “Shorty” Heinen. His cousins, Mark Heinen and Joe Heinen are both firefighters in Sartell and Waite Park respectively. And his brother, Dan Heinen, is as well. Heinen’s sons are interested in following in their father’s footsteps. Tyler is a firefighter in Sauk Rapids already, while Travis is interested in joining as well.
“I don’t know what drives me . . . it’s helping people,” Heinen said. “Nobody can tell you why they do it. They just do . . . and it definitely isn’t the pay; every time I leave work I lose money.”
There are three sizes, and each one can either hook up to a resuscitation bag or an oxygen tank.
Firefighter Matt Heinen demonstrates how the mask might fit over a dog’s snout. Ideally, the firefighter would lay behind the animal and use two hands so as to lessen the risk of injury to both the pet and the first-responder. There are three sizes of masks.
Firefighter Matt Heinen demonstrates how the mask might fit over a dog’s snout. Ideally, the firefighter would lay behind the animal and use two hands so as to lessen the risk of injury to both the pet and the first-responder. There are three sizes of masks.
