Montor’s grief was soothed just one month later when he helped save another dog from a house fire on Kenmore Avenue.
The dog was unconscious and suffering from smoke inhalation. Montor carried it outside, where other firefighters used a pet oxygen mask to revive the animal.
It wasn’t long before the dog was walking around the front yard. Montor was happy that the pet oxygen mask came in handy.
“Dogs are like members of the family,” Montor said. “If there is any chance of rescuing them, it (the pet oxygen mask) is a nice tool to have.”
The fire occurred early Oct. 31 on the 4000 block of Kenmore. Firefighters received the call at about 4 a.m.
When firefighters arrived, the home’s human occupants — a woman in her late 50s or early 60s and her son — were safely outside.
However, the woman told firefighters and police that her dog was still in the house.
Smoke poured from the home’s roof and doors. It drifted across the driveway.
Montor’s job that night was to help carry the fire hose inside the house. He was the point man, carrying the nozzle.
The firefighters advanced through the front door, which was thick with smoke. Montor found fire on a bedroom floor. The firefighters extinguished the fire.
Montor looked for more fire and listened for fire crackling. He heard what he thought was a whimper. Then — nothing.
Firefighters knocked a hole in the ceiling and found the main fire. Apparently part of the fire had fallen through the ceiling and onto the bedroom floor.
Investigators later determined that the fire was electrical in nature, according to Doug Turner, Parma Fire Department spokesman.
Firefighters doused the fire in the ceiling. Then Montor again thought he heard a noise, perhaps another whimper. He walked into the kitchen.
There Montor found a dog lying in front of the stove, not moving. It was a big dog, about 30 or 40 pounds, and a mixed breed.
“I leaned down to grab it and I could feel its chest rise and fall,” Montor said. “I knew it was still breathing.”
Montor scooped up the dog, carried it outside and gently laid it on the front lawn. He let other firefighters know that the animal was still alive.
Firefighter T.J. Martin started massaging the dog’s heart. He strapped the pet oxygen mask — designed for an animal’s long snout — onto the dog.
Montor said the fire department acquired the mask about four-five years ago. It was used just once before, he said.
At any rate, while Martin treated the dog, Montor raced back inside the house to make sure the fire didn’t travel.
About 30 minutes later, Montor again stepped outside.
“One of the guys told me they had rubbed the dog’s chest and he popped right up,” Montor said. “They told me he was at the next-door neighbor’s house.”
Later in the day, Montor stopped by the neighbor’s home, where the woman and her son stayed the night. Montor’s newfound canine friend was there.
“The dog came over to me and I petted him on the head,” Montor said.
Firefighters have lost track of the woman and her son. They were unable to stay in their house, where the damage was estimated at $50,000.
But Montor will never forget the dog, just like he won’t forget Blaze, his companion of nine years. He said Blaze gave him more good memories than he can count.
Montor said he had no choice but to put Blaze to sleep. Toward the end, his legs just weren’t working anymore.
“It was probably one of the harder decisions I ever had to make,” Montor said.
(Sun News - Nov 15, 2012)
