A dog named Tito nearly didn't make it out of an overnight house fire in Englewood, gasping for air after firefighters pulled him from the blaze. Crews responded to the fire near 72nd and South Paulina streets, and within minutes they were fighting to save not just the structure, but the dog trapped inside it.
Tito was struggling to breathe once he was clear of the smoke, according to Yahoo News, which reported on the rescue. Paramedics responded by placing a special oxygen mask over his snout, a device built specifically to fit dogs and cats rather than people. The same report, also covered by WGN-TV, said crews held the mask over his face for several minutes.
That patience paid off. After several tense minutes with the mask in place, Tito was up and walking on his own again, the outlet's report noted. For a dog that had just been pulled unconscious or struggling from a smoke-filled house, that recovery marked a dramatic turnaround for the responding crews.
Why Chicago Trucks Carry Pet-Sized Masks
Tito's rescue was possible in part because of equipment that didn't used to exist on Chicago fire trucks. Human oxygen masks simply don't fit well over the snouts of dogs and cats, as pet oxygen-mask equipment maker Invisible Fence Brand has noted, a mismatch that pushed the company to donate more than 235 of the specialized masks to the Chicago Fire Department, according to the station's report. That donation was enough to equip every fire truck and rescue unit in the city with the pet-specific gear, the same coverage said.
The investment reflects a pattern seen in other cities. In Wichita, Kansas, two unresponsive dogs were revived by firefighters using similar Invisible Fence-donated equipment, per the station's reporting. Aurora, Illinois firefighters have also carried smaller pet-sized oxygen masks for years, something the Chicago Tribune noted back in 2016, around the same time Big Rock firefighters pulled dogs, cats, chickens, turtles and even a bearded dragon from a single fire.
Not an Isolated Case
Animal rescues from house fires have played out in similar fashion elsewhere in recent years. In Phoenix, firefighters gave two dogs emergency oxygen after pulling them from a burning house, according to WFLA. And in Pasadena, California, a family dog named Milo suffered major smoke inhalation before being handed off to a team with an animal oxygen mask on standby, CBS News reported, adding that a veterinarian later said Milo would fully recover.
Closer to home, Chicago's Far South Side has also seen fires where pets and people made it out together. In one case reported by CBS News, three people and a dog escaped a home safely, though the fire left them displaced. Details that remain unconfirmed in Tito's case, including the fire's cause, the exact date it broke out, and whether anyone else was inside the Englewood home, were not available in the reporting on his rescue.
