When a home fire starts, the most important thing in the world is getting family to safety, including pets. After such a devastating event, a reunion with a beloved cat, dog, or other pet means everything, as we’ve seen so many times. Now, there’s a device that could help make those reunions happen much more often called Rescue Retriever.
It’s an idea by an Arizona firefighter who knew something had to be done to save pets. Shockingly, over 40K pets die in residential house fires each year, primarily due to smoke inhalation. More than 500,000 pets are affected, but the actual numbers could actually be much higher since they are not officially reported.
“I made this because I got mad one day. I couldn’t rescue a dog fast enough,” said Captain Ryan Tussing from the Avondale, AZ Fire Department.
Captain Ryan Tussing from the Avondale, AZ Fire Department holds the light-up Rescue Retriever device. Images and media via Images via Facebook/Rescue Retriever and via TikTok/rescue.retriever
Rescue Retriever Light-Up Paw Alarm
As you can see below, Rescue Retriever is a device similar to a smoke alarm that lights up in bright lights in the shape of a paw print. It’s designed for search and rescue in the critical seconds following a house fire. Unlike our smoke alarms, it doesn’t make noise. Instead, it lights up and strobes to alert anyone nearby of a pet’s presence. A sticker outside the home also alerts people of the pets and device inside.
Captain Ryan Tussing with Wolfy the dog.
Video via Instagram/gadgetglimpse:
Alerting Firefighters About Pets Hiding Inside
As Ryan explained from firsthand experience, firefighters often don’t know if a pet is present in a home. In all the chaos, homeowners may not be able to warn firefighters.
That’s why Captain Ryan Tussing from the Avondale, AZ Fire Department and his twin brother Rusty created Rescue Retriever. As you can see below, it lights up a dark home with a beacon that sends the message, “Look here!”
The device lights up a dark home
Video by Rescue Retriever:
Pets Can’t Rescue Themselves
The original reason Ryan Tussing created the device is devastating. After fighting fires, he had to carry deceased pets to traumatized homeowners.
“I have had to give the heartbreaking news that a family pet didn’t survive a house fire far too many times. We do our best as firefighters to rescue your pets, but most times, we don’t even know they are there. I created this product to change that,” wrote Ryan.
If he had only had a way to find the pets in those key minutes, they may not have succumbed to smoke inhalation. Ever second counts, which is why pet oxygen masks are also critical for pets following a fire.
After Rusty, an entrepreneur, considered the concept, he realized that pets don’t have any protection from a fire.
“We need a smoke detector to help us search for pets. Because right now, every pet in America doesn’t have protection from fire,” Rusty said.
As with human smoke alarms, placing the device in the right location is key, such as low to the ground where there is less smoke. It’s also where First Responders are more likely to see the device as they move beneath the smoke.
“Placement is key: wherever your pet finds places to hide,” says Ryan, who compared it to leaving “a trail of breadcrumbs” to find a scared pet.
Rusty says some folks have even suggested training pets to sit beside the strobe light to further help in the event of a fire.
And since many folks have pets in crates when they aren’t home. Thus, putting the device on the outside of the crate and also nearby to lead the way could make a big difference! As for our kitty friends, you could place the devices where they are likely to hide from your personal experience. But merely having the device in the home is also like a beacon saying, “Please look for my pets!”
Wolfy inside a crate with the Rescue Retriever on the outside
You can see more about Rescue Retriever on their website, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
Video via Vimeo, Your Life Arizona:
