Lifestyle Pets Firefighters Use Special Oxygen Masks to Save Turtles Following Fire at Ohio Animal Exhibit Crew members were able to save half of the turtles caught in the shed fire By Georgia Slater Georgia Slater Georgia Slater is an associate editor on the Parents team at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2018. Her work has previously appeared in USA Today and Washington Life Magazine. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 25, 2021 05:35PM EST Photo: Medina Fire Department Firefighters in Ohio were able to rescue a group of turtles from a shed fire with the help of special animal oxygen masks. On Wednesday afternoon, a duty crew from Medina Fire Department responded to a report of a shed fire at Turtle World of Medina. Upon arrival, firefighters confirmed it was a working fire and were informed by neighbors that the facility's owner had "multiple turtles" inside, a rep for the department wrote on Facebook. The firefighters put the fire out and began removing approximately 10 turtles, including two large tortoises, from the shed. To help rescue the turtles, crew members used oxygen masks that are "specially designed to be used on animals" and used them to "administer oxygen therapy" to the turtles. Medina Fire Department Medina Fire Department Thousands of 'Cold-Stunned' Turtles Rescued from Freezing Texas Waters as State Battles Winter Storm Unfortunately, half of the turtles did not survive the fire, firefighters said. "The shed had been insulated and heated to house the turtles and it is believed that one of the heating elements started the fire," the post read. Medina Fire Department Turtle World of Medina gave an update about its turtles and the shed on Thursday. "The interior of the barn is demolished with smoke and fire damage. We lost 7 tortoises that lived in the barn but 5 of the 6 aquatic turtles survived and are behaving like water turtles should," a rep for the exhibit wrote on Facebook. 100 Animals Dead After Fire Erupts Inside Indianapolis Pet Store The post continued, "The remaining 50+ tortoises and turtles in hibernation or in my basement are fine and are looking forward to spring." Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. According to the post, Terry, Turtle World's "biggest and oldest African Spurred tortoise," survived the fire and is receiving treatment. "All is good and God is still in control," the post continued. "In comparison to all the things going on in the world today this event is tragic for the animals involved, but it should not be considered a tragedy by any means."