Lincolnshire firefighters praised for rescuing dog trapped in house fire

Lottie pictured with her blackened fur shortly after her rescue by Lincs Fire and Rescue.

Firefighters from Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue are being praised for saving a dog trapped in a house fire on Friday.

Two crews were called out in the afternoon to a house blaze where the occupants outside alerted firefighters to their little dog ‘Lottie’ who was still trapped inside.

The incident took place at a home in Arthur Street, Lincoln.

A spokesperson for the service said: “Gaining access through a rear kitchen door and wearing breathing apparatus, Katie and Richard from Lincoln South fire station entered the smoke-logged house and rescued the small dog.

“While other firefighters worked to extinguish the fire, they administered oxygen to Lottie who was normally fluffy white but was totally black from the smoke, wasn’t breathing. Using the special pet CPR masks that are now on every fire appliance that were kindly donated by the RSPCA, after 20 minutes, Lottie started showing signs of life and her eyes opened.”

"The emergency vet arrived and Lottie was placed in an oxygen tent overnight. After multiple observations and tests, the vet was delighted to tell the owners that Lottie will make a full recovery.”

Crew Manager at Lincoln South fire station, Kenny McLaughlin, was the incident commander. He said: “I’m very proud of the swift action taken by our firefighters at this incident. Although we are used to rescuing people and animals from properties, the effects of smoke on small animals is often too much for them. In fact, the vet commented that in 15 years of witnessing pets pulled out of house fires, he had never seen one recover.

“We’re so pleased that Lottie has been one of the lucky ones and that she is on the mend, but also that this incident was prevented from being much worse.

“The fire itself was caused by a candle left unattended – something that is so easy to do, but can have catastrophic consequences.

“Again, our crews arrived and took action to extinguish the fire quickly so that the majority of the fire damage was contained to the dining room. But the whole house has suffered smoke damage, and this is a timely reminder to always make sure you blow out candles when you leave a room or use LED candles instead.”