Heartwarming footage of California firefighters treating perhaps their smallest patient on record has captivated the internet.

A crew in the San Francisco Bay Area city of Oakland spotted a pigeon “in distress” earlier this week after a vehicle fire, and jumped into action to assist.

“The crew reported the pigeon came up to them seeking help. The pigeon seemed to have suffered some smoke inhalation from the vehicle fire,” said Oakland Firefighters Local 55 union in a post on social media.

As captured in footage posted online, a firefighter administered oxygen with a mask placed over the small bird’s face as it stood in the road. It flew away after “clearing out its lungs”.

The crew’s actions drew accolades online with comments such as “I will gladly keep paying taxes if this is what it keeps getting used for.” As of Thursday afternoon, the video had more than 1m likes on Instagram.

The moving footage was reminiscent of a recent incident in which firefighters in southern California rescued four cats from an apartment that had been damaged by fire. Three of the animals were not breathing, according to the Cal Fire/Riverside county fire department, and the crew and a local sheriff’s deputy used oxygen tanks and CPR to revive the animals. The cats all survived.