The fact that firefighters can be lifesavers isn't anything new, but the back-to-life efforts of one Louisiana smoke-eater went above and beyond the call of duty. It happened in the town of
West Monroe on Friday when Stephen Odom was called to a blaze at a home on a local street.
The fearful owner told him her two dogs were trapped inside the burning wreckage and pleaded with the crews to try and save them. Odom put on his oxygen mask, took a spare with him, and ventured into the smoky darkness, heading for the room where the animals were kept.
He found them under some blankets in their carriers, trapped in the house, and brought them outside. But it looked like it might have been too late for one of the terriers. The little dog wasn't breathing when he pulled it out of the cage and so Odom decided to do for the animal what he'd do for a human - administer CPR.
At first, he tried holding an oxygen mask over the pup's face, but the creature failed to respond. Then he took matters into his own hand - not to mention his own mouth. He started by "cupping my hands around the dog's snout and blowing until I could feel his chest expand," he recalls. "I then did chest compressions similar to that of infant CPR. After approximately one minute of doggie CPR, I noticed the dog trying to breathe on its own."
Within five minutes, the animal was responding and began to look around curiously for its owner, who gratefully took possession of the panting pooch.
Fellow firefighters praised Odom's unorthodox actions, and noted it was all part of a day's work. "We do not know the dog's name," relates Fire Prevention Officer Curt Meachum, "but we could just call it 'Lucky.'"
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