A grant applied for by the City of Brownwood in 2008 was awarded recently and allowed Fire Marshal Buddy Preston to secure an arson dog which will serve Brown County and the surrounding areas.

Nika, the arson dog, is a 2-year-old female black Labrador Retriever.  She and her handler Preston are currently attending a four week training in Alfred, Maine through Maine Specialty Dogs.

Preston arrived in Maine last Saturday at the training facility and received his dog on Sunday, according to Brownwood Fire Chief Del Albright.

“Buddy called today and stated he and Nika are doing very well,” stated Albright.  “He and Nika successfully completed the feeding for award portion of the training and was given his own food pouch to reward Nika for alerting on the correct substances.”

The program is rigorous on both the dog and the handlers as they go through extensive training before becoming certified.  Arson dogs are trained to sniff out minute traces of accelerants that may have been used to start a fire.  These dogs are part of a team comprised of the K-9 and its handler, which is a law enforcement officer trained to investigate fire scenes.  These teams are trained to investigate the causes of fires and also perform community outreach programs and educational seminars on fire prevention and safety.

“Buddy also stated the training is very intense.  Everyday filled with training, practicing skills, and lots of walking,” stated Albright.  “So, not only does Buddy get to receive a free arson dog and training, he also receives a free fitness program if he wants it or not.  Her tongue is not the only one dragging.”

Before leaving for the training, Preston expressed how beneficial having an arson dog within the area will be and that such an asset has been needed in the past.

“The Bethel Church fire would have been our third time we could have used an arson dog since the initial application was filed,” Preston said.

The training, according to their website www.arsondog.com, uses Labrador Retrievers for numerous reasons:

• Labs have a superior ability to discriminate among scents at a fire scene.
• Their noses can smell in parts per quintillion.
• Labs generally have a gentle disposition, a “love to work” attitude, and an outgoing personality.

All of these characteristics make Labs the perfect choice to become an arson dog.

Maine Specialty Dogs has been providing accelerant canine training and placement for law enforcement departments since 1996.  Maine Specialty Dogs has trained more than 250 teams in 43 states, three Canadian provinces and the District of Columbia.

Pictured above is Brownwood Fire Marshal Buddy Preston with the new arson dog Nika during training.