When a nearby building full of dogs caught fire, these colleagues set out to rescue them.

There were not many people except the firemen who ran towards the fire. But when a Seattle business burned down last month, a group of co-workers jumped into action to save their canine neighbor.

As smoke billowed from The Dog Resort, a dog day care center near Seattle’s Lake City, employees at PSR Mechanical rushed to cross the road.

Greg Hagen was one of the employees of the HVAC company.

“You could see smoke coming from the building and the sounds of dogs, rescuers, firefighters, police, everybody responding,” Hagen told CBS News. “So it was a lot of noise, it was chaos. It was one of those situations where we didn’t know exactly what to do, but we knew it had to help.”

Hagen said he and his colleagues joined forces with other members of the community, including workers at a nearby Mexican restaurant, to help rescue about 60 dogs.

“So there were about nine of us and we all played different roles. Some of us ran and caught the dogs, some of us helped to guard the yard… to keep the little dogs from going back into the street. “There were employees who were taking care of the dogs and playing with them,” he said.

While firefighters battled the blaze, PSR staff rounded up the dogs in their backyard. “It was great to see back then because a lot of dogs moved in,” Hagen said. “It was as if they were given a new playground. So they started running and having fun in our yard, which was really cool to see.”

They calmed not only the frightened puppies, but also the nervous parents who came to pick them up. “They took their dogs there that morning and saw it on the news and were very angry,” said Hagen, who said her team has helped reunite pet owners with their beloved dogs. “It was very emotional to see their faces when they saw their dogs. Some of us were close to tears. When you see people and see their dogs playing in the yard, that’s for sure.”

None of the dogs were injured in the fire and their neighbors at PSR are hailed as heroes. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell visited PSR and Aceitunos Mexican Foods to thank the employees who helped rescue the dogs. He also presented them with a Certificate of Merit.

“Yes, it was a chaotic time, and I don’t want to go through it again, but we’re glad we were able to help,” Hagen said.