SUPERIOR, Colo. — When the fast-moving Marshall Fire hit without warning some people were sadly not able to rescue their animals in time.
One man who was impacted by the fire is now working to make sure pets will be safe in the case of another disaster.
David Crawford lost his home in Superior when the fire ravaged through his neighborhood.
“The fire took my home. Fortunately, I was home at the time. So I was able to get a couple of things out, most importantly, my cats, and then some books and some photographs, some records, but I didn’t really take it too seriously, I could have got more stuff out,” said Crawford.
He told Denver7 the hardest part for him was not losing the material items, but the fact that many animals perished in the fire because they couldn’t be saved in time.
Crawford said he did what he could to help pets in the area. He even managed to save a neighbor’s German shepherd.
Now he’s working to develop a new app to keep animals safe in the case of another emergency.
“We’re seeing this as an opportunity to develop an app and a sort of a networking of neighbors, to allow them, your trusted neighbors, and you to press one button if you need help in a time like this,” he said, “There were a lot of people trying to get in here and get their animals, there were a lot of people making phone calls, and trying to reach people who might be here when this happened, and they couldn’t.”
So far, David only has mock-ups of what the app will look like. It’s still in the process of being developed.
They’re also still working on choosing its final name.
Crawford says the app is expected to be finished in August or September.
