Equipment, Gear Stolen From Pet Fire Rescue Group Red Paw
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS/AP) — A firefighter who has dedicated her life to helping pets affected by fires is hoping someone will return her team's stolen equipment.
Jennifer Leary with Red Paw Emergency Relief Team posted a plea on Twitter asking for the public's help.
She says a brand new cargo unit was stolen off their response vehicle a week ago, while it was parked in northeast Philadelphia.
She says new respirator masks and her personal protective gear was also stolen.
"It couldn't have been easy for whoever took it to get it off but I guess they were determined because they took the whole thing brackets racks the entire thing gone," said Leary.
At this point Leary feels that that expensive cargo unit it probably gone but what she is more upset about is the protective clothing known as bunker gear that was inside. It's heavy so she's hopeful that someone may have found it realized it was heavy and discarded it and is asking residents to keep an eye out for it.
"It's actually my personal bunker gear that I was issued during the fire academy. It's been with me for 12 years through that whole journey so that's something that just isn't replaceable," she says.
Red Paw's goal is to reunite pets with their families once they have recovered and reduce the number of animals surrendered to shelters due to sudden hardship.
The team works with other disaster relief organizations to provide search and rescue, emergency transport, veterinary care, shelter and supplies for affected pets, at no cost to their owners.
(© Copyright 2018 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
