Greg Biffle Donates Pet Oxygen Masks To Charlotte Fire Dept.

NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Greg Biffle donated more than 30 sets of pet-sized oxygen masks on Wednesday to the Charlotte Fire Department on behalf of his foundation.

The Greg Biffle Foundation presented Charlotte fire Capt., Rob Brisley and several members of the Charlotte Fire Department with the masks at Charlotte Fire Station #6 on South Laurel Avenue in southeast Charlotte.

Titan, a K9 member of the fire department, was present to accept the masks and demonstrate how they will work to help save pets that are involved in a fire.

The cone-shaped plastic masks, which come in three sizes and fit snugly on snouts, can resuscitate animals suffering from smoke inhalation. They can be used on dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits, guinea pigs and even birds.

An estimated 60 million U.S. households have pets, but statistics on how many die in house fires are hard to come by. Frequently, house pets hide during a fire, making rescues difficult.

Exactly how many pets have been saved with animal oxygen masks is unclear, too. But a fire department in Prospect, Conn., received two donated sets recently and two days later used one to resuscitate a Yorkshire terrier pulled from a fire.

The Greg Biffle Foundation held a fundraiser this year and all the proceeds have gone to providing local fire stations with these masks. The Foundation has also presented masks to Catawba and Iredell counties.