Fire at a pet wholesaler

That is a real shame. I'm not a "fan" of the war, but the men and women serving our country didn't have anything to do with us being there and they don't have a choice in the matter unless they want to move to Canada.

Yes I think whether you agree with the war or not, you can' t blame the soldiers for being over there that long. They are just servicing our country and they do need an applaud regardless of your view on the war. My cousin has been in now for a long time and He has told me the same thing, with people thanking him and stuff. It just doesn't happen very often if sometimes not at all.

Hello Friends,

Thanks to the troops we have the freedoms that we do. We all need to salute them.

I was in the store a couple of days ago and seen a soldier and I stopped and told him that I really appreciate all him and his brothers are doing for us. He said to me you know I have been back for 2 1/2 weeks and you are the FIRST to thank me. I said I am so sorry that it took this long for that. This was at the mall on thursday. I can not believe that it takes that long to thank the members of the armed forces to be THANKED. This really got under my skin.

Mario

lmao Berna! Yes they all have my applaud! Good going guys/gals!!!

My brother is in Iraq right now, he is my ultimate hero.

I plan of becoming a Sheriffs Officer in the near future and I can only hope that I could have half the bravery of the first responders that gave their lives in 9/11.




Here's a pic of my bro while he was serving in Korea...he's the one looking like he's going to storm the Alamo.

I totally agree!

Thanks Ronda,

I being from N.Y. took this very personally and I can remember seeing those beautiful buildings and now there is a big hole there. It breaks my heart that this happened and this tattoo is in the honor of all that put there life aside and went in to save as many as they could. This is a small token of my graditude for the Hero's of this country. We must not forget about the boys and girls over seas defending this great nation so that we can have the freedoms that we do. They are also the hero's and must never be forgotten. It does not matter weather if you agree with the war or not these hero's are there trying to keep US SAFE. Please do not ever forget that.


Mario(Ziggy)

Wow Mario that is gorgeous! I wasn't then, and of course not in NY but I am a first responder now, and I can only imagine what it could have been like! I give all applaud to them!

Hello,

No problem. I have a coulple for friends that are firefighter and they have told me so many stories about how they are the first responders to a lot of things. They are Hero's and need to be treated as so. I have a tattoo on my forearm that thanks firefighters and the police for the Sept 11th disaster.


Here is the Tattoo





Thanks Mario(Ziggy)

WOW! Glad most of them were saved!

That was a good read Mario. Glad to see that they were able to save most of them! Like it says, it could have been allot worse! Thank God it wasn't!

Thousands of Animals Saved from Blaze at Pet Supplier
An electrical fire at a wholesale animal supplier killed a number of reptiles and baby birds, but most of the pets were saved



An electrical fire at Quality Pets Inc. resulted in the loss of baby birds after burning for nearly three hours.
Courtesy Richard Cordon

A fire at wholesale pet supplier Quality Pets Inc. in Oklahoma City blazed for nearly three hours last Friday afternoon, February 29, 2008, causing an estimated couple hundred thousand dollars worth of damage. However, the company reopened for business this week and expects to return to a full schedule next week thanks to a little good luck and the bravery of the local firefighter squad, according to Donnie Fleming, owner and president of the company. Fleming is also the elected chairman for the Pet Industry Distributors Association (PIDA).

“Watching from across the road, I wouldn’t have thought anything would come out alive,” said Fleming who was evacuated along with 70 employees. “Those [firefighters] are really heroes.”

Not only did all people – including the 60-plus firefighters present – come out safe, but so did several thousand birds and small animals, such as rats, in part because of a double-walled fire wall that kept the fire from spreading. The fire, most likely electrical, broke out around 2 p.m. in the attic and quickly jumped to paper records stored in the area, Fleming said. Within 20 minutes, flames were shooting from the roof.

“We literally had to run people out of the building,” he said.

Five interconnected buildings housing different species, including a fish hatchery, and a dry goods division make up Quality Pets’ headquarters. The fire destroyed a bird quarantine room where a number of baby birds were located, as well as part of the bird and small animal rooms and most of the reptile segment. Fleming described those rooms as “almost bunker like,” surrounded by concrete pillars, which further prevented the fire from spreading.

Additionally, all of the animals’ cages were put on rolling racks in a redesign three years ago in order to make them easier to move for cleaning. A fortuitous decision that proved life-saving for a number of animals as the firefighters were able to roll the racks right out of the building.

“It was serendipitous. They rescued 85 percent of the livestock,” Fleming said. “You could hear the cheers every time they came out with more [animals].”
As the roof fell, however, a majority of the company’s reptiles were lost. Only a handful of its breeding stock was saved, but “it could have been a lot worse” overall, Fleming said.

Calling the insurance company “very helpful,” Fleming said the fire isn’t slowing down business. He expects that the roof will be fixed this weekend; all customer shipments were completed as scheduled this week; and its reptile supply will be replenished within a week or two.

“We aren’t going to let this inhibit us,” he added.

Although employees didn’t have time to grab anything on their way out of the building, one woman in the process of hand-feeding a bird, wrapped the chick in a towel and took it out with her. Nicknamed “Lucky,” the bird has found a new home as the company’s mascot.


This could have been a lot worse. If this was in the middle of the nigh there could have been a 100% loss. The firemen in this country are so under appreciated. They are hero's!!!!

Mario