With the help of a thermal imaging camera, firefighters with Lewis County Fire District 5 successfully located and rescued a dog that was trapped in a burning RV Friday morning.
Crews were dispatched to the fifth wheel RV fire at 1185 Old Highway 603 northwest of Napavine at approximately 9:10 a.m. on Oct. 7. The firefighters arrived a few minutes later to find smoke and fire coming from the structure, according to the fire department.
The RV’s human occupant escaped without injuries before firefighters arrived, but she was unable to locate her pet dog, Molly.
“Our duty crew was able to quickly knock down the bulk of the fire and transition into a primary search for the pet,” District 5 stated in a Facebook post Friday afternoon.
Heat from the fire wasn’t high enough to cause problems for the firefighters searching for the dog, but a “tremendous amount of smoke” caused by a lack of ventilation created “zero visibility” conditions inside the RV, according to District 5.
The rapid preliminary search was unsuccessful, so crews picked up the thermal imaging camera and quickly located the dog in an upper bedroom area “lethargic and scared,” according to District 5.
A paramedic treated the dog for smoke inhalation and the dog “very quickly began to come around,” according to District 5.
The dog’s owner planned to take her to a vet for a full followup exam.
“Molly and I thank you so very much,” the dog’s owner wrote in a Facebook comment Saturday on District 5’s post. “She is fine, although she slept until 1 p.m. today. Totally exhausted. You should have seen her yesterday after getting a bath from a friend. Zoom, zoom, zoom!”
District 5 extended its thanks to Lewis County Fire Districts 6 and 15, which responded to the call for mutual aid but were canceled while en route.
