Dramatic Video Shows Dogs Being Rescued From Colorado RV Fire: 'Harrowing'

Authorities have released dramatic body cam footage of a "harrowing" incident where deputies in Arapahoe County, Colorado, worked to rescue several dogs from an RV fire. Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office deputies Nicholas Collins and Zach Newell responded to the RV fire on Tuesday at around 7:15 p.m, The Denver Post reported. As soon as they arrived, they saw smoke streaming out of the mobile home. At the time, the person who lived there was still at work. "Smoke was coming out of every window in the RV," Collins told the Post. "I could hear the dogs screaming inside." In the body cam footage video published by the sheriff's office, Collins can be seen trying to enter the burning RV but the smoke is too thick. He then runs back to his vehicle to grab a gas mask. "I knew it's not designed for [fire] smoke, but I knew it would protect my eyes," Collins told the Post. In the meantime, Newell managed to pull a husky that had its head out the window of the RV to safety. After Collins grabbed his gas mask, the video shows him entering the RV, and finding two other huskies that both appeared to be unconscious. He can be seen picking up one of the huskies and carrying it to the door, at which point Newell pulls the animal out of the RV.

Collins then goes back in to retrieve the second dog. He also manages to coax another frightened dog to run out of the RV. The two dogs that were carried out of the trailer by Collins were placed on the ground just outside. "Deputies pulled two dogs from a fire in a harrowing rescue attempt captured on body cam," Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office said in a Twitter post showing a photo of the two animals that Collins carried out of the RV. "The dogs inhaled a lot of smoke and had trouble breathing, both were unconscious." Collins then tries to perform a type of CPR on one of the dogs. Emergency responders rushed some of the dogs to a local veterinary hospital. Ginger Delgado, a spokesperson for the sheriff's office, confirmed to KKTV that the dog that Collins had tried to resuscitate survived the ordeal.

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According to Delgado, there were a total of six dogs in the trailer at the time of the fire. The other dog that Collins carried out did not make it. Another dog, meanwhile, never managed to escape the RV. However, a total four dogs survived the fire thanks to the efforts of the deputies and Sable Altura Fire Rescue officials who also responded to the incident. Chief Rich Solomon with Sable Altura Fire Rescue, who was one of those on the scene, told the Post that what Collins did was "amazing." "I know what those conditions must have felt like for him," Solomon said. "It's something inherent in an individual, it can't be taught. He's that kind of individual you want on the streets." Collins has a dog himself—a German shepherd named Apollo—and he said this motivated him to try and save the animals in the RV. "He's my best friend," Collins told the Post. "I was living through my worst nightmare, of him [Apollo] suffering while I was gone. I would want someone to do the same for my dog." In a statement later provided to Newsweek, Collins later said: "This is someone's family. I need to get them out. Whether helping people or dogs, it's all part of the job." In the statement, Sheriff Tyler Brown said: "The heroism of our deputies does not stop with humans. Our pets are members of our families. We are proud of our deputies for their actions on that day and their service to our community." Several people on social media hailed the emergency responders as heroes for their efforts to save the dogs. "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR WHAT YOU DO!!!! Big damn heroes, right there!!!," said one YouTube user in the comments below the body cam footage. According to Solomon, the fire that ravaged the RV was likely sparked by an electrical outlet near a bedroom. Update 04/04/22, 7:31 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comments from Deputy Nicholas Collins and Sheriff Tyler Brown.