“The Alabama Department of Forestry has a bloodhound that they use for wildfires,” says Paul. Not Just Dalmatians Anymore - Today's Fire Dogs Come in All BreedsĪcross the board, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, and hybrids of the two (Goldadors) may be most prevalent in this line of work, but other breeds are hardly exempt from the trade. “They’re working for seven to 10 years and living to be 17, 18 years old,” she says. Rest assured, the dogs never go hungry in between jobs-in fact, thanks in large part to this regimen of diet and exercise, Paul assures me that accelerant detection canines are some of the healthiest dogs in the world. they will always get the food from a trainer’s hand.” The only time that they get food from the time that they start training to the end of their working life is after they have detected the smell of an accelerant.
“They’re trained that the specific odor of different accelerants means that they get food. She investigated suspicious fires across the United States for 11 years.”Īfter having taken note of what Paul calls an “incredible tool for community safety,” State Farm adopted the practice of employing dogs for this work.ĭog trainer Victoria Stilwell, who has her own arson dog training web series, walks us through the process of training a dog for a life in accelerant detection. “It was a named Mattie, and she was with the Connecticut State Police. “Accelerant detection canines really came into existence in the public arena in September 1986,” says Heather Paul, national coordinator for the State Farm Arson Dog Program. An increasingly prevalent job for dogs nationwide is the accelerant detection canine a dog that investigates a fire scene to detect for the possibility of arson. This, however, is not the only possible gig a pooch might nab if he or she is angling for a life in public service. not like tracking dogs-these are trained to find live people.” “If there’s ever an event like 9/11, or a major building collapse or structural collapse, we have urban search and rescue. They’ll have Labs and Golden Retrievers,” Riedmayer says. “The fire departments tend to use foster dogs. The Modern Fire Dog: Educated and Certified in Arson Detection Nowadays, the breeds most closely associated with the department are of the more stoic variety. However, these spotted canines are hardly a fixture of the modern day fire safety routine.
And they became the international symbol for firehouse dogs.” “They would have Dalmatians that would run through the streets and bark to clear the streets for the horses. Riedmayer, Canine Accelerant Detection Association (CADA) secretary and chairman of the board, and himself a former firefighter. “That came about when were still using horse-drawn fire pumps,” says Brian M. And yet it’s quite unlikely that you’ve actually ever seen a Dalmatian hitching a ride on any firefighter’s beat. This picture has persisted for more than a century, proving not only an iconic symbol for one of our country’s most esteemed public institutions, but for the country itself. Just as inherent an image of the American fire department as the tall metal sliding pole, the blaring siren, or the bright red firehouse, is the smiling Dalmatian perched with pride at the front of the firehouse, ready for duty.
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