Lifesaving pet oxygen masks will now be onboard fire engines in every station thanks to donations from a Helston groomers and the RSPCA.

Kits featuring specially designed pet oxygen masks will be used to help save the lives of animals in the event of a fire or carbon monoxide poisoning incident.

They will now be available on at least one fire engine at each of Cornwall Fire, Rescue and Community Safety Service’s 31 fire stations.

Donations from Helston-based The Dog House Grooming Company and the RSPCA mean that all on-call stations will now have the kits.

Last year Pets at Home donated masks for Cornwall’s full time fire stations at Tolvaddon and Falmouth.

To thank them for their donation, Cornwall’s fire investigation dogs Archie and Woody met with representatives from the three organisations at Helston Community Fire Station.

Kathryn Kelly, from The Dog Grooming Company, said: “We have lots of local customers in south Cornwall and their animals are members of their family. They would be devastated if anything were to happen to them and these animal oxygen masks can make all the difference.”

The kits, created by not-for-profit organisation Smokey Paws, include pet oxygen masks in three sizes, a lead and a muzzle in case a rescued animal becomes agitated.

RSPCA animal welfare expert Dr Samantha Gaines said: “The bond between people and their pets can be incredible strong and so losing a pet in a house fire can be hugely traumatic. Our pets are vulnerable to the dangers of house fires, and particularly smoke inhalation, just like us.

"The fire and rescue services do a wonderful job; we’d like to help them not only save the lives of people but also of beloved pets who can be caught up in devastating and terrifying fires. By providing special animal oxygen kits for fire engines in Cornwall, we hope to enable our brave and heroic firefighters to save even more lives.”