Fireman saves dog with kiss of life

A dog that was overcome by smoke during a house fire is recovering after receiving mouth-to-mouth resuscitation from a fireman.

Mike Dunn was part of a team of firefighters from three stations tackling a blaze at a house in Silverdale Road, Hull, after a pan was left unattended by the tenant.

After the blaze was under control, Mr Dunn spotted the lifeless body of the pooch from the smouldering remains, and pulled it to safety.

As the dog was not breathing, he fought to save its life by performing the kiss of life on it.

He said:

“The property was quite heavily smoke logged and the dog was handed to me outside showing little sign of life.”

“I gave it mouth-to-mouth and oxygen therapy for about 30 minutes.”

Amazingly, the dog regained consciousness.

After the event had unfolded, fire officers had said that it was a rare occurrence to find a dog that needed medical treatment after a house fire, as they are able to escape a blazing building with much more ease than their owners.

Luckily for the unnamed pooch, Mr Dunn knew the right way to revive it.

The correct technique for administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dog is by holding the snout closed, whilst blowing carefully into the animal’s nose.

After its ordeal, the fortunate dog was left with a neighbour who agreed to look after it. Officer Dunn is optimistic that the pet will be right as rain in no time at all. He added:

“Hopefully it will make a full recovery.”

Mark James