Smoke inhalation from fire- advice needed

gothicangel69

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The planters on my deck caught fire at my appartment today due to the extreme heat we've been having while I was out.
Thank god one of my neighbors noticed it and called the fire department, but apparently my whole appartment was filled with smoke (since I had the windows open).
My two cats seem fine at the moment, but I'm wondering if there are any delayed effects that I may need to watch out for?
Also, my ferret seems to be sneezing a bit, not sure if that is due to the smoke or not.
I will say it was quite a scare, and also pure luck that it happened in the evening and not at night, where it could have burnt the whole place down. Also, thank god I have tennant insurance so I won't need to pay anything.

Any advice on the furbabies?? I'm a little worried.
 

darlili

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I can only suggest calling your vet - and if not around for the holiday weekend, call an e-vet for advice and what, if anything, to watch for.

Do you have carpeting? Can you smell the smoke? I'd be anxious to try and air out the apartment as thoroughly and quickly as possible...maybe the local fire department can advise you on next steps, or who to call, about that issue. Or your insurance company should be able to help about professional cleaning options.

But, thank goodness things weren't worse--you're blessed with that neighbor.
 

strange_wings

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Your cats probably got as far away from the smoke as they could, and should hopefully be alright. I'm worried about your ferret, though, and if I were you would be more concerned getting it in to see the vet. (smaller animal, more sensitive, smaller lungs)

I hope they're all ok.

Just how hot was it to catch planters on fire? It commonly gets around 110F here in the summer, and can even go beyond that on a bad year, but I have never heard of planters around here catching fire.
 
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gothicangel69

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The fire department opened all the windows and placed fans everywhere, so by the time I got home, the place was smoke free.
I do have carpet, but the smoke smell is barely noticable. If its not gone in a few days though, I'm going to have the carpets cleaned.
One of the cats seems a little hoarse when he meows, but thats the only sign I see and the ferret has stopped sneezing. I can't do anything about him until Tuesday, the e-vets around here know absolutely nothing about ferrets. He's not wheezing, so I think he'll be ok, but he was right by the window where the fire was.

Its been about 40 C for the last week, which is HOT in this part of Canada. The dirt in the planters was bone dry, and there was mulch on top, which apparently combusted. The fire department said its rare, but it does happen.
My porch is somewhat damaged though, but the landlord said they will have that fixed pretty soon.
 
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gothicangel69

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I just got off the phone with the E-vets.
The one I'm most concerned about is Mufasa- he's 8 and has ECG.
He's started gaging a bit as well, and when the vet asked me to check his gums, they looked slightly pale.
They said to watch him, and it he starts panting to bring him in ASAP.
Really not looking forward to staying up on kittywatch all night, I'm exhausted.
 

darlili

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If you can smell smoke in the carpets at all, think how much more your pets are inhaling of it.

I'd get my insurance company tosend over a smoke mitigation company - you've probably got smoke remaining on all the walls as well as in the carpets.

I hope things are improving for all of you.
 
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gothicangel69

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Thanks for all the advice everyone.
The smoke smell is completely gone from the appartment now.
I've washed down all the walls, appliances, curtains, bedding, and screens and cleaned the carpets.
Mufasa also seems to be doing better now. He's not as hoarse anymore and is moving around alittle more.
Now the only thing left is to fix the deck itself- its quite a mess.
 

darlili

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Although I can only imagine how tired you are after all the stress of the whole situation...but how great everyone seems to be feeling a bit better, and, if there's a bright side, you're certainly starting off fall with a fantastically fresh home.
 
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