Dogs have long been recognized for their keen sense of smell and their ability to be trained to use that sense of smell to identify specific materials. The most common are those used to detect illegal drugs. Our first two dogs, Hershey and Buddy, were trained at the Atlantic City, New Jersey, police academy as accelerant detection dogs. The dogs are trained to detect even the smallest amounts of several different flammable and combustible liquids. They are also conditioned to work from aerial ladder devices, boats, in helicopters and in burned-out buildings.

The training of the dogs takes eight weeks and is done with a praise reward training method. After the dogs are trained, they are then tested against samples that have been evaluated in a New York State Police evidence laboratory and have been proven to contain small traces of flammable liquids. They must detect and discriminate the test material in a burned-out room, in a snow-covered field, in the back seat of a car, or in any other place this material may be used to start a fire.

The work of investigating a fire has truly gone to the dogs. Today fire investigation teams of a handler and a dog are being trained at the Academy of Fire Science, and there are several teams operating all across the state. The dogs have not totally replaced the work of a trained fire investigator, but they are making it a lot easier and faster for the fire investigators to do their work.

• If a flammable liquid, such as gasoline, is used to start a fire, wouldn't it all burn up and not leave a trace of evidence?

No. Even after an intense fire involving flammable liquids, a trained fire investigation team can locate the presence of the accelerant that was used to start or spread the fire.
• With many jobs going high-tech with sophisticated computer equipment, has fire investigation also gone high-tech?

Yes. The latest high-tech instrument is the nose of man's best friend: a dog.