No people were seriously injured, but an unconscious dog was saved by "mouth-to-nose" resuscitation when flames engulfed a south-Hailey duplex Sunday.
The late morning house fire completely destroyed one bedroom and its contents and caused extensive damage throughout the remainder of the duplex's second story.
Firefighters from the Hailey Fire Department, Wood River Fire Department and the Bellevue Fire Department responded to the emergency call. A total of 19 firefighters along with four trucks and two ambulances were involved in the multi-departmental response.
While on the scene of the blaze, firefighters were told that three dogs remained inside the home. Inside, the firefighters found the dogs and brought them outside.
One of the dogs lost consciousness as it was being carried outside. Removing his own breathing apparatus, Matt Lutz, a senior engineer for Wood River Fire & Rescue, revived the dog with "mouth-to-nose" resuscitation, said Hailey Assistant Fire Chief Carl Hjelm.
The dog's owner was extraordinarily grateful for Lutz's quick actions, he said.
"That is above and beyond the call of duty," Hjelm said. "His performance was exemplary."
Dogs don't often get into these types of situations, he said.
"Most of the time dogs make it out of a house quite quickly," Hjelm said.
The initial call for the fire on Willow Drive in Hailey's mid-Woodside neighborhood came into to Blaine County dispatch at 11:38 a.m. on Feb. 4.
Once on the scene, firefighters quickly doused the flames. The fire was declared under control by 11:50 a.m. and the last firefighters left the scene of the fire at 2:19 p.m.
It's nice to be an incident commander on fires like Sunday's where crews work together as well they did, Hjelm said.
"The crews really did a nice job," he said.
Fire crews reportedly returned to the scene of the fire several times throughout the rest of the day to ensure the fire was completely extinguished.
According to a news release from the Hailey Fire Department, the duplex's two occupants reportedly suffered from smoke inhalation. One of those individuals was transported to St. Luke's Wood River Valley Medical Center before being treated and released.
The other patient was treated and released at the scene of the fire.
Fire crews also entered the duplex's adjacent residence to make sure the fire hadn't spread, Hjelm said. Fortunately, the fire was contained to just the one side, he said.
"Everything was OK over there," he said.
Hjelm wouldn't speculate on the cause of the blaze, saying fire investigators from Hailey's fire and police departments are working collaboratively to find out what started the fire.
He said the investigators are following several possible leads.
