An accelerant detection canine (ADC) is trained to sniff out minute traces of ignitable liquid accelerants that may have been used to start a fire. Each dog is part of a team that is comprised of the canine and its handler. The handler is a law enforcement officer who has been trained to investigate fire scenes.

Initial phases of canine training

The training for an ADC begins long before it meets its handler. Training is based on a desired behavior (odor recognition) that brings a desired response (reward in the form of food or play).

1. The first part of training is imprinting. The dog is initialized by being exposed to an ignitable liquid odor, taught how to alert, and receives a reward.
2. Next, the dog is taught to ignore normal pyrolysis (burning) products that would be present at most fire scenes. Most ADCs are trained to respond passively to an odor by sitting (alert) until the handler commands “show me,” and the canine will point its nose or pat its paw where the odor is detected.
3. Once the dog has been exposed to both ignitable liquids and pyrolysis products, the canine is taught to discriminate between these two accelerants and to alert to only nonpyrolysis accelerants.
4. Finally, the handler is brought in to work with his or her dog on all this, over and over until it’s time to prove themselves through verification and certification.

An accelerant detection canine and his handler in training with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Certification

A dog and handler are involved, either through proficiency testing or working a scene, in over a hundred trials per day. Detailed training records must be kept, and the records are critical in the courtroom. In addition to daily training, the ADC is certified annually. There are several certifying agencies, including:

• Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
• Fire K9.
• Scientific Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal Detector Guidelines.
• State Farm.

Certification involves double blind recognition odor recognition and search exercise, scoring 100 percent.

On the job training

The training of the canine and handler really never ends. The ADC doesn’t receive food unless it earns it either through rigorous daily testing or while at an investigation. The canines are never fed unless exposed to an ignitable liquid. This is the primary reason that the dogs live with their handlers 24/7 because their training is compromised if they are provided with a bowl of dog food at a kennel or by someone other than the handler through training.

Investigating the scene

Canine teams have proven to be the most effective tool that fire investigators can use to locate accelerants. The fire investigator/handler will assess the fire scene, perform a cursory search for origin and cause, and ensure it is safe before the canine is used.

Once at the scene, the canine will begin its search after being given a command such as “seek,” and it will sniff for the odor of an accelerant. There are two searches: free search, where the dog sniffs randomly, and a directed search, where the handler steers the dog to a specific area that may have been missed.

If an accelerant is detected, the dog will “alert” its handler by sitting. Next, the handler asks the dog to show the exact source by the command, “show me.” The dog will pat its paw or point its nose at the spot, followed by praise and food (reward) for its work. The investigator or technician will collect the samples identified by the dog, and they will be sent to a lab to confirm the presence of an accelerant.

It is important to remember that the dog is a tool for fire investigators to use in locating the exact spot to collect samples that have a high probability of containing ignitable liquids. Analysis of the sample by a lab is the determining factor that confirms the presence of ignitable liquids.