Members of the Gerry Fire Department meet with Allison Carlson of Invisible Fence Company of Erie to accept her company’s donation of 30 animal resuscitation kits to be used by fire departments across Chautauqua County. Pictured are Allie Hall, Carl Seastedt, Hector Perez and Carlson. Submitted photo

GERRY — Pets across Chautauqua County will have a better chance of surviving a structure fire due to the efforts of a Gerry volunteer firefighter, Hector Perez, and the generosity of Invisible Fence Company of Erie and its owner, Allison Carlson, who are donating 30 animal resuscitation kits to be used by fire departments across the county.

Discussions began last December after the Gerry Fire Department was called to assist Fluvanna with a house fire. The home’s occupants escaped safely, but several pets did not survive.

Perez and his wife, Allie, also an emergency medical technician, are animal lovers who have several dogs of their own, and they felt that the outcome could have been different if resuscitation equipment had been available. Perez said he made it a “personal mission” to come up with a solution.

His searching over the next several months led him to contact Invisible Fence Company through its Erie franchise owned by Carlson. She informed him that the parent company, which installs underground fencing to help keep pets safe, has a program that has provided more than 11,000 animal resuscitation kits nationwide. Her own franchise, which services Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania, has donated more than 150 kits in her three years of ownership.

Carlson then volunteered to donate such equipment, not only to the Gerry Fire Department, but to deliver 30 kits for Perez to distribute to other departments across the county. The kits include three sizes of oxygen masks, tubing to connect to standard oxygen tanks, directions for use and decals to be placed on a department’s emergency vehicle. The masks are washable and reusable.

Perez said the kits are available at no cost to any fire department. Any fire department may contact him at 716-450-8040 and he is willing to deliver.

“If only one pet is saved through this program, it will be more than worth the effort,” Perez said.