DRAPER -- Three Draper dogs were alive Wednesday, thanks to paramedics and emergency medical technicians with the Salt Lake County Fire Department.
The dogs, two poodles and a Labrador retriever, were found "near dead" in an upstairs room of a home at 12599 S. 1700 East after firefighters extinguished 5:30 a.m. basement fire, county fire Capt. Bill Brass said.All three were suffering from severe smoke inhalation.
Paramedics and EMTs strapped oxygen masks on the dogs and revived them, Brass said.
"Sometimes it works and sometimes we lose them, it just depends on how long they've been there and how much carbon monoxide they've taken in. They are so much smaller than humans they are affected much faster," Brass said. "The fact that (the dogs) were so far away from the fire was good."
Fire investigators determined the fire started by a pile of laundry which was left too close a furnace. Homeowner Rikki Conner told investigators she had been having trouble with the furnace, which had been making a popping noise. The furnace cover had been removed, which probably contributed to the fire getting started.
The fire gutted the basement laundry room and a bathroom and knocked out power and phone lines. Initial damage estimate is $50,000, Brass said.