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K-9 assists fire marshals
  
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By JERI MARTINEZ
There is a new addition to the Pasadena Fire Marshal’s Office and he has proven to be a valuable asset to the department.
Two-year-old Brit is an accelerant detection K-9 (arson dog) who came to Pasadena about four months ago. This is a first for the department, which has been in existence for 60 years.
“The addition of Brit to our office has made a great impact on our investigations,” said Pasadena Fire Marshal David Brannon. “From the standpoint of any fires that are questionable in nature, we can take him in there and he can hit on many different types of accelerants.”
The idea of bringing a K-9 into this department has been in the works for about three and a half years.
“A dog will hit with much greater results than any type of man-made detection equipment,” Brannon said. “Throughout the years, we have tried many different types of man-made detection equipment and had mixed results.”
Just like the fire marshals, Brit is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for Pasadena and any other agency who is requesting mutual aid assistance.
Harris County and Houston have dogs and the results have shown great success and effectiveness in their programs.
Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Brown was chosen to be Brit’s handler when the decision was made to bring a K-9 into the department. Before being picked, the handler’s family had to accept with having the dog stay with them.
“Prior to picking the handler, one of the criteria’s was that the handler’s family also accepted the responsibility and was good with what the handler had to offer to the animal due to the fact that it’s a big responsibility for the handler and it’s pretty much a family project,” Brannon said.
Brown was sent for training once they obtained Brit from an independent kennel training agency.
Brit, a yellow lab, came from the Czech Republic and was sent for a training duration. Once he was trained on the scents (odors), Brit and his handler spent three weeks at the facility training which included them eating, sleeping, working and bonding with each other.
“We certified as a team at the end of the three weeks,” Brown said.
Brit was obedience trained in the Czech Republic, so all of his commands are in the Czech language.
“It’s not a full Czech language and I know about seven Czech words,” Brown said. “Slowly, he is coming around to English by being around my dogs at home and me talking to them in English.”
Since Brit was put in service, he has been effective in helping the fire marshal’s office with their cases.
“He has been very effective in helping us make several good hits which have been confirmed by our crime lab with positive results,” Brannon said.
Brown tries to not go two days without training Brit, so he is continuously training.
“It’s to the point when we are not training, we are training,” he said. “He is trained on transmission fluid and when we were in the parking lot, he walked by an oil spot and he was alerted on me.”
There are two different types of accelerant dogs- a food reward and a play reward. Brit is a play reward.
“Anytime he alerts on a find, he gets a toy to play with,” Brown said.
The daily routine for Brown definitely has changed now with having a K-9 working with him.
“All daily duties such as inspections and programs, he comes with me,” he said. “I do all of the school inspections and I will take him into the school with me. He is a good public education tool because you will be surprised by the kids who normally wouldn’t have a thing to say to me, but they see the dog and they come up to me to ask questions.”
Numerous people have asked the question, “Why would you take a dog into a burning fire?”
“He doesn’t get deployed until the fire is completely out, things have cooled down and then he does the search,” Brown said. “The only thing he is looking for is accelerants; he’s not a search and rescue dog.”
Brit is described by the fire marshals as not your typical police K-9 by being docile where they can also use him for community relations and public fire education programs.
“He’s been quite a hit (with everyone),” Brannon said.
Both fire marshals hope to have the most successful program with a long, healthy, working life of Brit in the future.
Two-year-old Brit is an accelerant detection K-9 (arson dog) who came to Pasadena about four months ago. This is a first for the department, which has been in existence for 60 years.
“The addition of Brit to our office has made a great impact on our investigations,” said Pasadena Fire Marshal David Brannon. “From the standpoint of any fires that are questionable in nature, we can take him in there and he can hit on many different types of accelerants.”
The idea of bringing a K-9 into this department has been in the works for about three and a half years.
“A dog will hit with much greater results than any type of man-made detection equipment,” Brannon said. “Throughout the years, we have tried many different types of man-made detection equipment and had mixed results.”
Just like the fire marshals, Brit is on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for Pasadena and any other agency who is requesting mutual aid assistance.
Harris County and Houston have dogs and the results have shown great success and effectiveness in their programs.
Deputy Fire Marshal Robert Brown was chosen to be Brit’s handler when the decision was made to bring a K-9 into the department. Before being picked, the handler’s family had to accept with having the dog stay with them.
“Prior to picking the handler, one of the criteria’s was that the handler’s family also accepted the responsibility and was good with what the handler had to offer to the animal due to the fact that it’s a big responsibility for the handler and it’s pretty much a family project,” Brannon said.
Brown was sent for training once they obtained Brit from an independent kennel training agency.
Brit, a yellow lab, came from the Czech Republic and was sent for a training duration. Once he was trained on the scents (odors), Brit and his handler spent three weeks at the facility training which included them eating, sleeping, working and bonding with each other.
“We certified as a team at the end of the three weeks,” Brown said.
Brit was obedience trained in the Czech Republic, so all of his commands are in the Czech language.
“It’s not a full Czech language and I know about seven Czech words,” Brown said. “Slowly, he is coming around to English by being around my dogs at home and me talking to them in English.”
Since Brit was put in service, he has been effective in helping the fire marshal’s office with their cases.
“He has been very effective in helping us make several good hits which have been confirmed by our crime lab with positive results,” Brannon said.
Brown tries to not go two days without training Brit, so he is continuously training.
“It’s to the point when we are not training, we are training,” he said. “He is trained on transmission fluid and when we were in the parking lot, he walked by an oil spot and he was alerted on me.”
There are two different types of accelerant dogs- a food reward and a play reward. Brit is a play reward.
“Anytime he alerts on a find, he gets a toy to play with,” Brown said.
The daily routine for Brown definitely has changed now with having a K-9 working with him.
“All daily duties such as inspections and programs, he comes with me,” he said. “I do all of the school inspections and I will take him into the school with me. He is a good public education tool because you will be surprised by the kids who normally wouldn’t have a thing to say to me, but they see the dog and they come up to me to ask questions.”
Numerous people have asked the question, “Why would you take a dog into a burning fire?”
“He doesn’t get deployed until the fire is completely out, things have cooled down and then he does the search,” Brown said. “The only thing he is looking for is accelerants; he’s not a search and rescue dog.”
Brit is described by the fire marshals as not your typical police K-9 by being docile where they can also use him for community relations and public fire education programs.
“He’s been quite a hit (with everyone),” Brannon said.
Both fire marshals hope to have the most successful program with a long, healthy, working life of Brit in the future.
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