Each year an estimated 500,000 pets are affected by home fires.

To help reduce that number, the National Volunteer Fire Council, American Kennel Club and ADT Security Services will hold a news conference in Greenbelt today to offer safety tips.

The event will feature a firefighter demonstrating  a specially designed oxygen mask to resuscitate pets injured by smoke inhalation, and demonstrations of "how a free static window cling (aka 'pets inside' decal in the front window) can help firefighters better rescue pets during a fire."

There will also be a video shown from a pet owner who recently experienced a house fire and saved her pets, thanks to a home fire monitoring system. Two Italian Greyhounds will also be on hand to assist in the demonstration, the AKC says.

If all this sounds to you like an attempt to sell safety equipment, you're probably partly right. But it's also an attempt to keep dogs safer, and that's a trend we can't argue with.

Oxygen masks for pets, for example, are becoming standard equipment for firefighters, and animal advocacy groups, kennel clubs and pet-products suppliers are equipping departments all over the country with them. Not too long ago, we told you about a Howard county girl scout troop that did just that.

The masks were originally developed for use by veterinarians but have evolved into rescue tools over the past several years.

(Associated Press Photo: Maple, a mixed breed belonging to Vermont firefighter Will Berkovits, left, demonstrates an oxygen mask made for pets.)