Dog resuscitated after house fire

A single-alarm house fire Wednesday evening turned into an animal rescue after firefighters discovered an unconscious dog in the home and had to treat it at the scene, officials said.

The Salt Lake City Fire Department became aware of the fire at 1730 S. Windsor around 6:30 p.m., and firefighters were able to respond within three minutes, said department spokesman Mark Bednarik. He said when firefighters arrived at the home, smoke and flames were visible, but it took only five minutes for them to control the fire.

In the meantime, Bednarik said another fire crew entered the home to discern whether there was anyone inside. When they opened the back door, one dog ran out, and a search of the home showed no people were inside. However, a second dog, a Lab named Koa, was found unconscious in a bathtub. The firefighters removed Koa from the home and attempted to resuscitate the animal.

Paramedics at the scene were able to give the dog oxygen through a K-9 specific mask and were attempting to start an IV when the dog regained consciousness. An ambulance was able to transport Koa to an area veterinary hospital, officials said.

Bednarik said it's more difficult for firefighters to find animals when their owners aren't home to let emergency workers know the pets are inside, but they were glad this story had a happy ending.

"Lots of these fires happen when people aren't at home ... and there have been fatalities over the years, but for the most part, whenever we get to do these rescues ... we're pretty stoked," he said.

Firefighters determined the fire was accidentally started by a floor heater in the living room, which was running while the homeowner was not there. They are estimating that the blaze caused $50,000 in smoke, water and fire damage to the home and asked that people use caution when using any sort of heating appliance in their homes.

e-mail: emorgan@desnews.com