Oak Ridge Today

Claxton firefighters receive pet rescue equipment

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Claxton resident Leo York, right, presents Claxton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dusty Sharpe with a pet rescue kit used to treat small animals and house pets suffering from smoke inhalation and other medical emergencies. (Submitted photo)

Claxton resident Leo York, right, presents Claxton Volunteer Fire Department Chief Dusty Sharpe with a pet rescue kit used to treat small animals and house pets suffering from smoke inhalation and other medical emergencies. (Submitted photo)

 

Claxton firefighters are better equipped to handle emergencies involving house pets thanks to a donation from a local resident and pet owner.

Leo York donated the pet non-rebreather oxygen masks to the Claxton Volunteer Fire Department after viewing a video of firefighters in Bakersfield, California, reviving a small dog suffering from smoke inhalation, a press release said.

“While it is understood that human life will always be the most pressing priority, having the tools to aid our fur friends will make our fire station even better equipped to serve the community” said York, who donated the rescue kit, which contains masks for both small and large pets. [Read more…]

Fifty evacuated, one treated after small fire at Callaghan Towers

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Robert Burk and Jean Rivera Evacuation

Oak Ridge Fire Department firefighter and paramedic Robert Burk, right, evacuates Jean Rivera, a resident of the six-story Frank Callaghan Towers on Fairbanks Road after a small fire on Thursday afternoon. Burk is carrying Rivera’s dog Taco. Rivera, who can’t walk steps, said firefighters practically had to carry her downstairs. “I’m shook up,” she said. “I’m nervous.”

 

About 50 residents were evacuated and one person was treated for smoke inhalation after a small fire was reported in an apartment at Frank Callaghan Towers on Thursday afternoon, authorities said.

The fire appears to have been caused by an electrical short at an outlet in a second-floor apartment on the northwest side of the building, Oak Ridge Fire Department Chief Darryl Kerley said.

A clothes hamper full of clothes ignited, and the fire burned the side of an entertainment center, two lamps, and materials around a window, Kerley said.

“It was a fairly small fire, but it generated a lot of black smoke,” he said. The first three floors of the six-story building were evacuated, and two cats were rescued from the apartment that burned. The apartment resident was not at home at the time. [Read more…]

Report: Child playing with lighter under bed when fire found

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East Tennessee Avenue Mattress Fire

A child admitted playing with a lighter under a bed when a mattress fire was found in an East Tennessee Avenue home Monday night, authorities said. (Photos by Tom Scott)

A child admitted playing with a lighter under a bed in a home on East Tennessee Avenue when a mattress fire was found at about 7:04 p.m. Monday, an Oak Ridge Fire Department report said.

Firefighters reported light smoke inside the house when they arrived, and they quickly found a smoldering mattress fire in a bedroom inside, the report said.

They reported the fire was under control, ventilated the home, and removed the mattress and box frame.

[Read more…]