GLENBURN – Saving the lives of furry friends has been made easier for some local firefighters thanks to two women who have been raising money and purchasing oxygen masks designed specifically for animals.

Jillaine Geary, 30, of Glenburn and her co-worker Jen Walton, 42, of Holden first got the idea after hearing about someone in New Hampshire who had raised money to purchase pet oxygen masks for the local fire department.

“We both just decided that we would try to do it,” Geary said Tuesday.

She has two cats and Walton has a dog and a cat.

“We’re both animal lovers,” Geary said.

They called several area fire departments, and at the time Brewer was the only unit that had a mask. Since then, Bangor has purchased one, Geary said.

The two started raising money in March by soliciting area businesses, friends, co-workers and family members.

Together, Geary and Walton have raised about $400 and purchased masks for fire departments in Glenburn, Hampden, Hermon, Holden, Orono and Old Town. But they don’t want to stop there.

“We were just hoping to get all of the local fire departments stocked with them, all of the surrounding towns, so they at least all have one set,” Geary said. A set includes three different masks for use on dogs, cats, and even ferrets. There are instructions and a warranty with each mask sent by H.E.L.P. Animals Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides masks at a reduced rate to fire departments across the country.

“They’ve been thrilled,” Geary said of the departments that have received masks. “A lot of them don’t have the extra budgeting to purchase something extra like that.”

Old Town used its new mask just one day after Geary delivered it to the station. A fire broke out in a French Island apartment building with several dogs inside. Three had been overcome by smoke, but firefighters were able to revive them using the mask.

“We’ve always saved cats and dogs,” Old Town Deputy Fire Chief James Lavoie said Monday. “How successful we were getting the oxygen directly into their lungs was a little bit difficult.”

The departments had used masks designed for humans when working with animals.

“The masks for an adult just wouldn’t seal around a dog’s snout,” Lavoie said.

The new masks are easy to use and don’t require additional training for firefighters.

bangor daily news file photo

Wylie, a dog that was caught in a fire on French Street in Old Town earlier this month, is given oxygen by firefighters using equipment donated to the Orono Fire Department just days before.

“The need is out there and for every department to have at least one set I think would be great,” Geary said.

She encourages people to donate to the fund that she and Walton have started, or to start their own.

For information, contact Geary at 947-1424 or visit www.helpanimalsinc.org.