By James Gamble via SWNS
A hero firefighter saved a dog’s life – by giving it mouth-to-mouth.
Knocks from inside a burning flat in Dalston, east London, were initially thought to be coming from a person – but were actually coming from trapped Alsatian Kiko.
Firefighter Lewis Keeble dragged the “limp” dog, which had inhaled a lot of smoke, from the burning building and to safety.
He then blew into the dog’s mouth to save his life.
Lewis, a dog lover, said he was glad to have been able to rescue Kiko, who came around and appeared back to normal shortly after the incident.
Crews from Islington, Stoke Newington and Homerton fire stations scrambled to the flat fire on the fourth floor of a 14-storey building one morning earlier this week (Tues).
It was initially thought a person was inside the flat after a neighbor reported hearing knocking.
But when temporary sub-officer Lewis Keeble and a colleague forced the door to the flat open, they discovered Kiko desperately trying to escape the approaching flames.
“We had been informed that a person might be inside the flat and that banging against the door had been reported,” heroic Keeble recalled.
“Together, we forced open the door and saw it was actually a dog that was trying to escape.
“By now Kiko was really limp because of the amount of smoke that he had inhaled.
“I reached out and dragged him out of the flat and across the building to a balcony.
“It didn’t look like the dog was breathing properly, so I cupped my hands around Kiko’s mouth and began blowing directly into his mouth.
“After a few minutes, he thankfully came round. He even appeared to be back to normal and he was later left safely in the care of his owner.”
Firefighters were first called at 08:47am and had extinguished the fire in a little over an hour, by 10:07.
The fire is being treated as accidental and is believed to have been caused by a faulty electric hob.
Keeble added that he was glad to have potentially saved Kiko’s life.
“I was anxious at first seeing the state that Kiko was initially in,” he added.
“But I love dogs so I’m really pleased that I possibly saved his life and it’s a really enjoyable outcome.”
