The number one cause of death related to fires is smoke inhalation. In King County, firefighters are all trained emergency medical technician (EMT) basic level qualified. This means they know how to apply oxygen, when to apply oxygen, and how to administer it in a safe manner to humans. However, what happens when a beloved animal has suffered from smoke inhalation?

Pictured: Assistant Chief Chris Flores (Left) and Firefighter Apprentice Mark Goetsch (Right) of Tukwila Fire Department demonstrate how to properly apply a pet oxygen mask to a dog.

Thanks to an investment from Regional Animal Services of King County (RASKC), emergency responders in Tukwila are now equipped with life-saving oxygen masks for pets.

The idea to ADD animal masks to Tukwila Fire Departments fire responding vehicles originally came about when RASKC met with Tukwila Fire Department’s disaster preparedness team to talk about sheltering pets and people. The fire department was interested in acquiring oxygen masks for their fire teams to use when responding to fires involving pets.

“RASKC was excited to be meeting in support of Tukwila’s disaster preparation efforts for pets,” said Gene Mueller, assistant division director of Records and Licensing Services. “We saw this as an extension of our goal to assist animals in emergencies, and an opportunity to work with Tukwila Fire to pilot their use locally.”

After receiving the masks, the next step was to develop training that could be implemented. Tiffany Hanson, a veterinary technician who also works within Tukwila Fire Department’s Emergency Management Division, collaborated with Tukwila Fire Department as well as local veterinarians in an effort to create this training program.

“The training program will be used by our department to make sure that our people understand the proper use of the mask, how it can be applied, and when it can be applied,” said Tukwila Fire Chief Jay Wittwer. “Those in the fire service that will receive this training already have training in these areas for human life and this is just an application for delivering oxygen to pets.”

Jay came from a previous fire department that used the pet resuscitation masks and was familiar with the impact they could have.

“I was in the city of North Las Vegas in Southern Nevada, and majority if not all of the fire agencies in that region used the pet oxygen masks,” said Jay. “I was very familiar with them and used them myself. These pet rescue animal masks really do a great job at assisting animals to overcome the effects of toxic smoke.”

As members of the South King County Fire Training Consortium, Tukwila Fire Department wanted to ensure that the training they developed was adequately reviewed before distributing it to the other departments. Tukwila Fire Department also plans to release a training video to accompany the workbook.

“We wanted to make sure that everyone had this orientation and received the training and went through it the proper manner,” said Jay. “We put it into the hands of the training consortium and allow them to go through their process. Then we will get it out as soon as everyone has had that training we will place those units on our fire responding units. I have used these masks dozens of times over the years and without a doubt have had phenomenal results.”

Pictured: Assistant Chief Chris Flores (Left) and Firefighter Apprentice Mark Goetsch (Right) of Tukwila Fire Department demonstrate how to properly apply a pet oxygen mask to a dog.

The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program (LHWMP) project to transition dry cleaners from using perchloroethylene (PERC) to professional wet cleaning technology has successfully transitioned the first five cleaners.

“PERC is a common dry cleaning chemical linked to cancer, liver damage, and neurological problems,” said Ashley Pedersen, policy liaison for LHWMP. “Approximately 190 former and current dry cleaning sites in King County have been contaminated by PERC. The national average cost of clean-up is $200,000”

There are about 75 dry cleaners in King County that use the dangerous dry-cleaning chemical PERC to clean clothes. LHWMP is working to help King County become PERC free for dry cleaners by 2025. This effort is in advance of a possible federal restriction or ban on PERC.

Pictured: Sun Cleaners, a recipient of the grant, shows their old dry cleaning set up.

The goal for 2018 was to provide five $20,000 grants to reimburse dry cleaners for replacing their PERC technology with professional wet cleaning technology. Within weeks of making the grants available, all five grants were issued to shops that transitioned to professional wet cleaning. The shops taking part in the pilot program were Andres Dry Cleaners in Sammamish, Best Campus Cleaners in Federal Way, Country Cleaners in Covington, Sun Cleaners in Seattle, and Wallingford Dry Cleaners in Seattle.

Going forward, LHWMP will offer up to ten $20,000 grants per year until all dry cleaners in King County have made the switch. Five additional grants will be available this fall. The grants are provided through the LHWMP, which is funded by fees on solid waste and sewer services in King County.

“As dry cleaners face a potential federal restriction of PERC, they have an array of alternative cleaning methods that they can adopt,” said Ashley. “Some of these alternatives also pose health and environmental hazards. By offering financial incentive, technical assistance, and education, we can help dry cleaners avoid “regrettable substitutes” and adopt the safest alternative.”

Professional wet cleaning is the safest alternative to PERC because it uses only water and detergent, along with computer-controlled washers and dryer. The cost to switch to wet cleaning is between $45,000 and $60,000, depending on the size of the wet cleaning machine, whether they already own tensioning equipment, and the difficulty of installation. As part of the project, dry cleaners also switch out hazardous spot cleaning chemicals for safer spot cleaners.

Pictured: Sun Cleaners and an employee with the new grant funded technology.

“We realize that this is an industry made up a lot of small family-owned businesses,” said Ashley. “Helping offset this cost keeps people employed while facilitating the elimination of PERC.”

Dry cleaning shops in King County are predominately owned and operated by Korean-American. This project advances King County’s Equity and Social Justice Strategic Plan by working directly with this community to reduce chemical exposure and assist the owners and operators in developing safe dry-cleaning practices.

The Local Hazardous Waste Management Program is a multiagency program comprised of partners from King County Solid Waste Division, Water and Land Resources Division, Public Health, Seattle Public Utilities, 38 cities, and two tribes. This project is part of a larger LHWMP initiative to work ‘upstream’ to prevent the use of harmful chemicals. In April 2018, LHWMP worked with the King County Board of Health to pass a Resolution in support of protecting public health and the environment by reducing exposure to toxic and carcinogenic chemicals.

Crossposted from Tails from RASKC 

This handsome fellow is Bruno, our Pet of the Week!

Bruno came to us as a stray. Although we don’t know his history, Bruno’s caregivers have noticed that he enjoys the company of people. He just needs some time and patience to adjust to his new surroundings and human friends. Bruno is not an overly “touchy” guy, but he does appreciate a few pets here and there. This could change with time, but for now he just needs some space.

Read more at Tails from RASKC