Dr. Borislava (Bobby) Trifonova, Clare Street Vets. 061415104. 66 Clare Street, Limerick
www.rockhallveterinary.ie
Did you know that 40 000 pets die in house fires every year? And that pets are responsible for starting at least 1 000 house fires per year?
Take the following steps to protect your home and dog of starting a fire:
- Candles: never leave lit candles unattended.
- Fireplace: make sure fires are properly extinguished before leaving the house.
- Fire Detectors: be sure you have plenty of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in your home.
- Secure wires and cords: lamps and other electrical objects should be secured so their cords aren’t up for grabs as a chow toy.
- Electric blankets: do not leave your dog on electric blanket unattended.
- No glass bowls: filtered and heated trough glass and water, the sun’s rays can ignite the wood beneath the bow.
10 Ways to keep dogs safe in an event of fire:
- Keep an identification tags on your pets with contact information and microchip number. Taking these precautions can avoid the heartache of a lost pet during these times of chaos.
- Keep pet collars close to an exit for quick evacuation. You will need them to evacuate your pets during the fire.
- Have an emergency plan and practice routes of escape with your dog. Make sure everyone in your home knows the escape routes.
- Have a window sticker that display the number and type of pets in your house.
- Keep the phone number and address of your vet handy in case of an emergency. If your pet is injured, you will need to take them for a treatment quickly.
- Make an emergency kit, that you can grab on the way out. Make sure it has a leash, medication and any immediate needs your dog might have for the next few days.
- Note where your pets like to nap and hide in case you need to evacuate your home.
- Keep pets near entrances. Firefighters can easily find and rescue pets that are near entrances.
- Keep outdoor pets away from danger. Keep the houses or pens away from brushy area. That way you will have a time to go out and rescue your pet in event of fire.
- Create an open access. Leave an outside door open. If you must evacuate and can not find your pet leave the door open and call his name once you are out.