The patient is lying there, suffering from smoke inhalation after being carried out of the burning building. The firefighters are forced to awkwardly try to get fresh air into the victim’s lungs because the oxygen mask won’t properly fit around the mouth.

The fact that the patient is a dog or cat rescued from a burning house makes it different from a human, but the lack of the right tool is still frustrating for Lawrence firefighters.

Soon, though, firefighters may be able to feel a little better about the situation. Lawrence veterinarian James Kraft has donated two special masks and pumps to Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical to be used for dogs, cats and ferrets that need medical help.

“I really think the fire department is dedicated to helping not only humans but pets, too. But they just haven’t had the equipment to really help pets,” said Kraft, who operates Lawrence Veterinary Hospital, 3210 Clinton Parkway.

Lt. Edward Noonen of the fire department agreed. He said the department didn’t have a formal strategy for dealing with pets injured in a fire. He said some firefighters had tried to place a human oxygen mask close to the nose of an animal, but that didn’t work well. Some also have performed “mouth-to-muzzle” resuscitation with various levels of success.

The two kits, which include special pumps so the small lungs of a pet won’t be over-inflated, will be placed in a commander’s vehicle and on the city’s primary ladder truck once training is completed later this month. That essentially will ensure at least one kit will be on the scene of every structure fire in the city.

Veterinarian Dr. James Kraft, right, demonstrates on a dog Frannie, how a portable oxygen pump could be used on a dog or cat injured in a house fire. Kraft has donated some of the equipment to the Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical department. At left is Lt. Edward Noonen with the fire and medical department.

“Obviously, people are our No. 1 priority,” Noonen said. “But if we know there are pets inside, we will do everything we can to find them.”

Noonen said there were good reasons to include pets in the department’s rescue operations. He said if people knew the fire department would attempt to save pets, they might be more likely to immediately leave a burning house rather than staying a few minutes longer to search for a pet.

“The last thing we want anyone to do is stay in a burning house to look for a pet,” Noonen said. “We don’t want to have to rescue two members of the family, so to speak.”

Noonen also said the fire department felt providing care to pets was just part of the service they should provide.

“A house fire is the worst day of a person’s life, a lot of times,” Noonen said. “If saving a person’s pet provides a silver lining, we want to provide it for those people.”