Fire Dogs Put Through Their Paces in Mansfield Training Exercise

Last week Mansfield Fire Museum and Mansfield Fire Station hosted a joint training exercise for the East Midlands Fire Investigation Dog Unit and colleagues from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service.

The training put both dogs and handlers through their paces, testing building and clothing search techniques as well as specialist discrimination exercises using “burn pots.” These skills are vital in fire investigations, helping teams detect evidence that might otherwise go unnoticed, with the dogs ability to detect trace amounts of ignitable liquid as small as one microlitre.

As part of the training scenarios, Annette Carrington from West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service trained with her dog, Holly. Annette and Holly will officially take over duties later this year when her colleague, Alex Daw, retires in November.

Fire Investigation Dog Handler, Tim Marston, explained: 

“Our fire investigation dogs play an essential role in discovering evidence that we are unable to detect at incidents. If an ignitable liquid has been used as an accelerant at a deliberate fire, it is not only invisible to the naked eye, but it has been set alight too. The dogs can detect trace elements of ignitable liquid in not only its natural state but also after it has been burned, so dogs have the potential to find what is literally invisible to us.

“With only 24 dogs of this kind across the UK, their expertise is invaluable not only in doing our bit to help secure convictions but also in supporting neighbouring fire and rescue services when needed.”

Since November 2023, the East Midlands Fire Investigation Dog Unit has supported nearly 600 investigations. At investigations where the dogs have assisted in providing evidence their work has directly contributed to more than 166 years’ worth of convictions for arsonists, underlining the impact and importance Fire Investigation Dogs and their handlers.

Pictured Left to Right at the back of the F.I van are: Dave Coss with Ginny, Annette Carrington with Holly, Alex Daw with Giddy and Tim Marston with Barney)