Dog rescued from Colleton County house fire

COLLETON COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A four-year-old dog was rescued from a burning home in the Green Pond community this week after neighbors called 9-1-1 to report seeing flames on the front porch.

Colleton County Fire Rescue crews responded to the Hickory Hill Road residence around 3:00 p.m. Wednesday and found heavy flames coming from the front of the doublewide mobile home.

“The front porch was well-involved, and fire had spread into several front rooms,” officials said.

Crews entered the home to search for the dog. The unconscious animal was found in a bathroom and brought to one of the ambulances on the scene.

Firefighter-paramedics and Animal Services Officers quickly began treating the dog using oxygen administered through a special mask designed to fit over a dog’s snout.

“After about 10 minutes of treatment, the dog began to move, and his breathing improved. He was not able to stand on his own,” officials said.

Family members took the dog to an emergency clinic in Summerville. It was last reported that the dog was released in stable condition later that evening.

Fire officials said the mobile home had been renovated with double flooring and a metal roof installed over an older shingle roof. They said these additions hampered efforts to extinguish the fire as flames spread under the floor and across the attic space.

A circular saw, chainsaws, and axes were used to access the fire as they had to remove sections of the floor, ceiling, and roof.

The cause is currently under investigation.

Officials say the specially designed dog oxygen masks are part of a “Fido Kit” which are carried on all Colleton County Fire Rescue ambulances.