Anonymous donors in Arlington Hts. buy oxygen masks for pets

In a residential fire, the first priority is to rescue any humans who might be in the house. But half a million pets are also in fires each year, says the American Kennel Club.

To help out with furry and even feathered friends who suffer smoke inhalation, a group of Arlington Heights residents has purchased special pet oxygen masks for the fire department.

"Some neighbors donated in memory of pets they have lost or in the name of their current pets," said Mike Sidor, who is acting as spokesman for a group called Good Neighbor Advocacy, whose members generally want to be anonymous and perform "random acts of kindness."

The investment was about $200 for three kits, said Sidor. Each kit has three different sized masks for small, medium and large pets. The masks come with tubing that can be hooked up to an oxygen tank carried on the fire truck or engine. They were ordered from a Web site, helpanimalsinc.org.

The Arlington Heights Fire Department does not budget to purchase pet masks, said Commander David Schultz of Emergency Medical Services, but another group donated four masks about five years ago, and three of them have been used so far, he said.

More money is coming in, said Sidor, so a few backup kits will be purchased.