Advantages of using search dogs for Fire Investigation

Highly trained detector dogs can locate the presence of accelerant substances (petrol, paraffin etc) with greater speed than any portable equipment presently available - thereby reducing the time spent by examiners searching for the evidence of arson..

Detector dogs are extremely accurate in pinpointing the location of accelerant thereby reducing the number of samples required for forensic testing. Detector dogs are trained to ignore hydrocarbons produced by combustion and pyrolosis and will only alert to accelerant substance trained into their memory. This reduces the number of false indications that occur with electronic equipment.

The olfactory capability (sense of smell) of the trained detector dog is vastly superior to the human nose and the deployment of a K9 will enable investigators to search for low level accelerant residue that would otherwise go undetected.

Detector dogs are fully mobile and highly motivated enabling large areas to be searched for evidence such as discarded containers or spillages that could be overlooked by conventional search methods.

Search dogs can be utilised in fire safety campaigns in order to raise the profile of fire investigation and deter would-be arsonists. Fire Investigation dogs are trained to detect all common accelerants (ignitable liquids) including: Petrol, Paraffin, White Spirit, Turpentine Substitute, Diesel, Cellulose Thinners, Lighter Fluid, Barbecue Fluid, Acetone, Methylated Spirit.

Dogs will detect these substances at low levels when burned or evaporated or at higher levels neat or mixed with other accelerants. Fire Investigation Dogs are extremely cost effective – they operate with great speed, are extremely accurate, highly motivated and are very reliable. In a world of modern science there is no detection equipment available to the fire scene examiner that can surpass the trained search dog.