Dallas firefighter describes effort to rescue pet shop animals after devastating mall fire
DALLAS – As a Dallas firefighter and paramedic, Paulo Bicahlo is trained and ready to rescue people. But when smoke from a fire at the Plaza Latina mall reached a pet store there Friday, he and his crew jumped in to help what animals they could.
"You should have seen it. There were over 10, 15 guys carrying animals out, breaking cages, and we tore that store down looking for any animal life there," he said.
Nearly 600 of the animals, most of them birds, had already died.
"We found five puppies at waist level in one of the cages. We had to actually tear down the cage, the barrier, and we took all five out," said Bicahlo. "In my 16-year career, that's my first time doing CPR on a dog."
Firefighters were able to revive three of the puppies, including one that had stopped breathing.
"It was the black one... It was special. It was nice. A little puppy got a chance."
Firefighters also saved several rabbits, some porcupines, a pig, and one ungrateful tortoise.
"She was like trying to bite me. The turtle was trying to bite me, and I was like, c'mon on!" laughs Bicahlo.
Several of the animals were donated to people at the scene who were willing to take them to a vet. That included one of the rescued puppies who went home with a firefighter.
The pup's new name? Smoky.