Dogs rescued from burning St. Paul Park home with help of fire suppression tool, a first in Minnesota
NEWPORT, Minn. — A new tool helped first responders save two dogs from a house fire last month in the Twin Cities.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office says Stillwater's St. John's Masonic Lodge No. 1 donated 15 Fire Suppression Tools (FSTs) to several police and fire departments in the county in January. The devices cost about $1,000 a piece and can fit in the trunk of a first responder's vehicle.
For the first time in Minnesota, first responders got to put an FST to use on Feb. 19 in St. Paul Park, when a house fire broke out, trapping two dogs inside.
A sergeant with the sheriff's office threw the device into the home, helping tamp down the fire so crews with the St. Paul Park Fire Department could better contain it.
The dogs were rescued and reunited with their owners.
"We're very fortunate to have our lives," said homeowner Lin Gisselquist. "Because of that device I think those dogs are here today. If it wouldn't have been for that, I don't know."
The family says the tool also helped them salvage more of their belongings. They want to help pay to replace the tool when they have the money.
The sheriff's office says to activate an FST, you first pull two pins on the device, which begins an eight-second countdown. You then throw the device into the structure that's on fire, and it releases non-toxic aerosols that can cut down the temperature of a fire by 1,000 degrees within a minute.
FSTs are most effective in spaces the size of a two-car garage or smaller.
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