A firefighter recently showed that every life is valuable and worthy of saving after he brought a small creature back from the brink of death in Williamsburg County, South Carolina.
The first responder, who works with the South Lynches Fire Department in lower Florence County, was among fellow crew members who went to the scene of a house fire on Babe Road, WPDE reported Friday.
South Lynches Fire Assistant Chief Jason Springs said firefighter Taylor Hayes took charge when a cat at the scene was found suffering from smoke inhalation.
The kind-hearted Hayes performed CPR and used a Pet Oxygen Mask to resuscitate the animal, and video footage shows the tense moment.
In the clip, Hayes sits on the ground while still wearing his gear. He hovers over the cat and places the mask on its face, patiently waiting for it to respond.
As he gently lays the cat’s head down on the grass, he scratches its shoulder to try and comfort the distressed animal. “He breathin’!” a person behind the camera says:
PAW-FECT RESCUE ❤️️🐾 Firefighters perform CPR to save cat following massive fire in Williamsburg County. https://t.co/yqkCm0Chga pic.twitter.com/cCU3DHglTE
— WPDE ABC15 (@wpdeabc15) March 9, 2024
The cat then appears to revive and slightly move its mouth as Hayes places the mask on its face once again.
The cat eventually began breathing normally and was deemed fine. However, Springs said the fire badly damaged the house.
Authorities are still working to determine what caused the blaze. The WPDE article noted the family was grateful their cat was saved and that firefighters also rescued two dogs while battling the blaze.
A similar instance happened in March 2021, when a firefighter from Wheeling, West Virginia, unknowingly adopted six kittens after saving their mother’s life during a structure fire, according to Breitbart News.
Tom Haluscak adopted the cat he rescued, and, as she grew bigger, he thought he was overfeeding her. She later gave birth to six kittens, and the firefighter said, “I think a lot of pet owners will tell you, and I wasn’t really much of a believer until I rescued her, but I didn’t rescue her. She rescued me.”
In 2008, a cat in Massachusetts was saved by a firefighter who gave it mouth-to-mouth resuscitation once the first responder rescued it from a burning building, per Breitbart News.
In response to a question about what it tasted like to perform the life-saving measure on the animal, the firefighter said, “Like fur.”
