Puppies rescued from burning shed in Northwest Territories by Alberta firefighter

Firefighter saves a trio of puppies up north A central Alberta firefighter deployed up north rescued a trio of puppies, after their family had to leave them.

Three puppies are now safe from a burning shed in the Northwest Territories after a firefighter from Sundre deployed to fight an out of control wildfire, acted quickly.

It happened on a property in the line of fire near Behchoko, NWT which has been under an evacuation order since Tuesday.

Marty Butts, the owner of No Surrender Fire Services, based in Sundre, Alta says he believes the property owners may have believed they could return home for the puppies before the fire swelled.

He described an intense few moments before retrieving the pups from the shed already ablaze.

"We had minutes," said Butts before adding, "when you see animals, we got hearts so we can't just walk away from stuff like that. We spent a few minutes there to get them out safely."

He says he's happy whenever he's able to help vulnerable animals during a deployment.

"You know we can't save everything in this world but the ones we can we definitely try our hardest and this one was a success and happy it turned out the way it did."

He and a fellow crew member transported the pets to the group Veterinarians Without Borders and the NWT SPCA, both of which are busy in the capital city of Yellowknife caring for animals affected by wildfires in the region.

The dogs are receiving temporary boarding, food, and veterinary treatment.

Officials from Veterinarians Without Borders hope to reunite the 5-6 week-old puppies with their owners.

"We're just trying to figure out as many solutions so that we don't have any barriers to prevent more animals from being rescued from the fires," said Dr. Michelle Tuma, Northern Canada veterinary specialist for Veterinarians Without Borders.

She says pets are often separated from their owners who are evacuated or displaced by wildfires, and is currently overseeing 80-90 animals with a crew of volunteers.

"Humans were prioritized. In a lot of evacuation plans they don't include pets unfortunately, so that's where we come in with vets without borders," said Tuma.

She encourages locals to donate pet supplies and anyone else to offer a monetary donation through their website.