A Santa Monica firefighter saved a lifeless dog from an apartment fire and resuscitated him after 20 minutes of mouth-to-snout rescue breathing and CPR.
Firefighter Andrew Klein found the dog after fire crews were dispatched to a burning apartment on 7th Street, according to a report broadcast by KABC TV7.
Fire was contained to the kitchen and storage area in the single-story apartment, according to the television station.
Klein found the 10-year-old Bichon-mix named Nalu not breathing and pulseless as they searched the apartment. The canine had become overcome by heat and smoke, KABC reported.
“I grabbed him and I knew that he was unresponsive just by his dead weight,” Klein told the TV station. “We had to bring him back. That was my goal was to make him survive this ordeal,” he added.
Two days after the fire, the owner of the dog and Nalu stopped by the fire station to say thank you for the firefighter’s effort.
The dog owner, Crystal Lamirande, said she was impressed with the way the firefighters cared for her dog and the efforts they took to make sure he survived.
“I am just so grateful,” Lamirande told the TV station.
