Pets may require oxygen masks too; Girl Scouts help

Posted 5/17/22

Girl Scout Troop 805 members presented to the New Windsor Fire Department new pet oxygen mask kits for their response vehicles.

On Saturday, May 14, Troop 805, led by Rebecca Ramaglia and Kelly …

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Pets may require oxygen masks too; Girl Scouts help

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Girl Scout Troop 805 members presented to the New Windsor Fire Department new pet oxygen mask kits for their response vehicles.

On Saturday, May 14, Troop 805, led by Rebecca Ramaglia and Kelly Rhynehart, gathered at the NWFD firehouse on Walsh Ave. to present the new oxygen kits. Through cookie sales and various community pitches, Troop 805 raised money for five kits to be put on the fire vehicles. Each kit cost $100 a kit according to Ramaglia. The troop raised $500 in total for five kits.

In each of the kits, there were three sizes of masks that fire personnel can use to deliver oxygen to pets or animals injured by a blaze or that need oxygen. Every mask within the kits is washable and reusable for emergency calls, making the kit sustainable for the next few years. Sustainability was a requirement of the overall project according to Ramaglia.

The distribution event also coincided with the celebration of the girl scouts achieving their Bronze Award. In an intimate ceremony, girl scouts Annabelle Mejia, Natalie Rhynehart and Autumn Ramaglia reaffirmed their Girl Scout promise in front of the gathered firefighters and scout leaders and were each awarded the Bronze Award and received a pin placed on their vests. The Bronze Award, the highest award attainable, is presented to Girl Scout Juniors, who are in the 4th and 5th grade, according to Ramaglia.

In order to achieve this award, the troop needed to identify a community issue and formulate a plan to address the issue where the idea of the pet masks came in. Troop 805 had reached out and asked NWFD if pet oxygen masks were readily available on the response trucks and vehicles to which the department replied they did not have any on their vehicles. Thus, the troop took on the project and worked to get masks for the department.

“They worked really hard to earn the money and they worked really hard to prepare to figure out what kind of community service they wanted to do,” said Ramaglia. “I’m very proud of them.”

Erin Lesko, New Windsor Fire Department President shared this project done by Troop 805 was a great effort and collaboration and she was happy to see the troop members and leaders out in the community and raising funds.

Rhynehart shared that this project was not only an exciting experience for the troop but it was an event that served the greater community. “The biggest thing we want to instill in them is giving back to the community, constantly,” said Rhynehart. “I think that for me personally I was just excited to see how excited they were to give back cause that’s important.”

At the conclusion of the ceremony, the girl scouts placed the kits on the trucks and went for a ride in one of the main engines with sirens blasting and lights flashing.