3 puppies rescued from house fire

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Miami-Dade Fire Rescue has saved three puppies from a fire that broke out in a South Florida townhouse.

The fire occurred in the garage of a town home along Southwest 240th Terrace and 108th Court, Monday morning.

The family, as well as two adult dogs and one puppy, made it out safely. "The four puppies were in the garage," said Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Lloyd Brown. "The two adult dogs and one puppy were out in front yard with the adults."

The firefighters would not hesitate to race into the burning structure to save the helpless pups. Brown played paramedic to the pups after a colleague found them in the fire. "Our priority is rescuing people, but dogs and cats and pets are family members too," he said, "and it's important to the rest of the family that we save them too."

The pups were rushed to a rescue truck and given oxygen from a special mask. "We started all of the same lifesaving procedures we would perform on any human that was the victim of a fire: We administered oxygen and gave them fluids," Brown said.

The dogs were transported to a veterinary hospital for treatment. Sadly two puppies did not survive. "The two we lost, I feel very bad about that one," Brown said.

Despite the loss, the family remains grateful to the firefighters for all they have done. "Thanks," said one of the family members, speaking through a translator. "If it wasn't for him everything would have burned down, and thanks for saving the dogs."

Brown said without the oxygen masks, things could have ended much worse. "Had we not had it, we wouldn't have been able to save the dogs as effectively as we did," he said. "Possibly one of the surviving dogs wouldn't have made it."

It was quite fortunate Brown arrived at the scene. When he's off duty, he is the director of Wildlife Rescue of Dade County and a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

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