Accelerant Detection Canines, also called, arson dogs, help fire investigators and law enforcement locate accelerants at fire sites, but that’s not all they do. “Do you Smell That?” is a short story explaining the work of these amazing animals.
Do you Smell That?
Part One
by Ida Smith
Detective Jalen Peterson arrived on the scene of yesterday’s house fire at 6 AM, only to find forensics investigator Tabatha Wilkens and Fire Chief Larry O’Donnell having never left.
“It’s about time you showed up,” Tabatha joked.
“How’s it going?”
“Terrible!” She stretched her stiff muscles and accepted the coffee Jalen handed her. “That fire burned hot; there’s not a lot left. It happened early in the morning; neighbors were all asleep. It was fully engulfed when someone discovered it and called in. The residence was almost completely
There’s no burn patterns and deep charring exists over the entire house, no way to compare one area to another. I also can’t get any of my instruments to detect any accelerants.”
“Why is that?”
“Either there was no accelerant, or what was there has burned up, or there’s not enough for my instruments to read.”
Jalen grimaced and glanced at the charred ruins of the 1940s home. “Is there any reason for it to burn that hot without accelerants? Was it maybe electrical?”
Tabatha shook her head. “The home was vacant, and both the gas and electricity were shut off.”
Detective Peterson nodded. “I’ll have someone look into who owns that. I hear there was a victim?”
“Yes. The medical examiner’s waiting to take the body, but it’s in pretty bad condition.”
“So, we do not know the victim’s identity?”
“Not yet.”
Jalen looked around the neighborhood, where a mixture of onlookers lounged. “Senseless.”
“I agree. People treat life as though it was worthless.”
Jalen sighed and looked between Tabatha and Chief O’Donnell, who had just approached. “But you think it was arson?”
“Most definitely!” replied the fire chief. “Good news though.”
Tabatha’s face brightened. “Did you find one?”
The stocky fire chief nodded. “Not only did I find one, but they should be here soon.”
“Who?” Asked Detective Peterson.
“An accelerant detection canine!” Despite little sleep, Tabatha was practically humming. “This will be a game changer.”
Jalen clenched his fist. “Is this going to be expensive?” He stiffened. “I got an hour-long lecture last night from my captain about keeping this within budget.”
Tabatha’s green eyes sparkled. “Then your boss is going to be thrilled.”
Jalen eyed her with suspicion. “And why is that?”
“Because accelerant detection canines, also called arson dogs, can sweep the crime scene much, much faster than we can and pinpoint accelerants that our equipment can’t trace. This means that we don’t need to take as many samples, which means less lab work, which means we can solve the crime much faster.”
“Bottom line, how much?”
“About the cost of lab work on three samples.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Nope. And look.” She pointed to a dark blue truck with a canopy. On the sides were the words, “K-9 Arson Detection Unit.” Tabatha’s red ponytail bounced as she strode toward the man exiting the vehicle. He wore a blue shirt and pants with “Fire investigator” embroidered across the back.
Chief O’Donnell and Jalen followed, as did Tabatha’s assistant, Kaylee.
The man let a black lab out of a crate and turned to the gathering group.
Chief O’Donnell introduced the team, including Kevin, the videographer who had joined them.
“I’m Rich Jamison, and this is my partner, Polly.” The dog, wearing an orange vest marked “Safety”, sat only inches from her trainer, alert and calm.
Tabatha reached out a hand. “I am so excited to see you and Polly work. I have read about accelerant detection canines and watched YouTube videos, but I’ve never observed one in real life. As you can see.” She turned and pointed to the charred skeletal remains of the house. “Most of our clues burned up in the fire.”
“Not all,” said Rich with a grin. He bent down and patted Polly on the head. “We’ll find them, won’t we, girl?”
“Even small trace amounts that inspector Wilkens’ equipment can’t find?” Asked Jalen.
“Polly and I train daily with only a drop of accelerant.”
Jalen straightened at this information. “What kinds of accelerant can this dog detect?”
“You’d be surprised. She can detect paint thinner, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene, butane, naphtha, and lamp oil, to name a few.”
Jalen reached down and patted the dog. “What if the dog doesn’t find anything?”
“Then we don’t have an arson situation. The dog is very accurate. We’ve trained in fire situations with accelerants and without. She’s smart; she can tell the difference between hydrocarbons that result from an accelerant and those that result from burned plastics.”
Jalen whistled. “Impressive.”
“Isn’t she?” Tabatha beamed.
Kaylee, Tabatha’s assistant, knelt and petted the dog. “She’s beautiful. But how on earth can the dog smell accelerant amongst so much charred remains?”
Rich smiled. “A dog’s sense of smell is so acute that it could smell a teaspoon of sugar in over 3.5 million liters of water. In fact, where we smell and breathe at the same time, a dog’s nose has separate functions for smelling and breathing. Another amazing thing about dogs is that the part of their brain that analyzes and processes odors is 40 times bigger than ours.”
“Wow.” Kaylee stepped back. “No wonder my dog always finds the treats I hide.”
Rich laughed.
Jalen watched as Tabatha’s excitement grew.
“Not only that,” Tabatha joined in. “A canine’s olfactory epithelium is full of receptor cells that can receive the smell and send a message to the dog’s brain to decipher it. And, their nose is stereoscopic, so each nostril can pick up separate smells, and move independently. In this way, they can also locate a particular smell.
Jalen admired the dog. “I think I have a whole new appreciation for dogs.”
“She’s pretty amazing.” Rich bent down and ruffled Polly’s head. “She’s an excellent accelerant detection canine.”
Jalen watched the handler with the dog. “You two seem pretty close.”
“We’re rarely apart. Polly lives with me and my family and plays with my kids. We train 365 days a year. In fact, she doesn’t get fed unless she successfully completes her daily training exercise or has done her job that day.”
“Should we get to work?” asked Chief O’Donnell.
“Sounds good,” said Rich. “First, let me check the scene to make sure it’s safe for Polly. I don’t want her stepping on anything sharp or to have something fall on her.”
Rich snapped a leash on Polly and entered the house. “Polly, go search.”
The black lab moved ahead, her nose to the ground. Kevin followed with the video camera, while Tabatha, Chief O’Donnell, and Jalen trailed behind.
“We suspect the fire’s origin was in the cellar near but the old oil furnace; that’s where we found the body,” said Chief O’Donnell. “But with this amount of damage, we’re pretty sure there was more than one fire set.”
Rich nodded. “It’s likely there were several fires started. Polly will let us know for sure.”
Polly’s search led them into the kitchen. She nosed around, then sat near the charred remains of the stove.
“Where’s it at girl?” Rich asked.
Polly stood and pointed with her nose to the flooring in front of the range. Rich praised her and gave her a treat, then collected samples and put them in a tin can.
From there, Polly worked her way to a back porch where the roof and a wall had crashed down upon it. Again, she sat.
Rich beamed with pride. “Where’s it at?”
Polly nosed under the recess in the debris and Rich collected a few more samples after praising her and giving her another snack.
“There’s no way we would have climbed in there,” said Tabatha. “I’m loving this arson dog more and more!”
After searching the main floor, they entered the cellar through an outside stairwell. “This is where the body is,” said Tabatha.
“They probably doused it in accelerant as well,” said the chief. “It’s over there by the oil furnace.”
Polly led the way and sat again. She pointed with her nose to several spots with accelerant and received praise and a treat.
“It looks like our suspect wanted to be sure to destroy the crime scene,” noted Detective Peterson.
When Polly could find no more accelerants, they left the house, and she searched the lot. Behind the house, Polly found a few spots where the accelerant had spilled.
“Look.” Jalen pointed to shallow impressions in the dirt and grass. If I’m not mistaken, it looks like several sets of footprints.
Tabatha pointed them out to Keven to photograph, and Kaylee retrieved the plaster to make casts.
Jalen shook his head. “Wow, that was impressive.”
“In just a couple of hours,” Tabatha said. “I told you this would save time and money.” She held up a handful of sample cans.
“Well, that’s a lot less than you usually have.” Jalen said.
Kaylee looked up from her plaster mold. “How can she do that so fast?”
Rich explained that smell is a dog’s primary sense. “Their sense of smell is 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than ours. They have a special organ on the roof of their mouths that enables them to taste smells.”
Jalen watched as Polly lay panting in the grass; a smile spread across her lips. “Wow. I wish the dog could help me find the perps who did this.”
Tabatha and Rich looked at each other. “I think she can.” Tabatha grinned.
Read Part Two Here.
Copyright 2023 Ida Smith. No part of this may be sold or copied without express permission from the author.
RESOURCES:
City of Portland, Oregon Fire & Rescue. “Arson Dog Facts” <https://www.portlandoregon.gov/fire/article/378417#:~:text=Arson%20dogs%20are%20more%20properly,although%20Labradors%20are%20especially%20common > (8 May 2023)
Wag! “Can Dogs Sense Fire?” <https://wagwalking.com/sense/can-dogs-sense-fire> (8 May 2023)
Inter Fire Online. “ATF Accelerant Detection Canine Program” by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Department of Justice <https://www.interfire.org/res_file/canine.asp> (8 May 2023)
Origin and Cause. “The Critical Role Accelerant Detection Dogs Play in Forensic Investigations” 18 January 2016, <https://origin-and-cause.com/articles/the-critical-role-accelerant-detection-dogs-play-in-forensic-investigations/> (8 May 2023)