Survivors

[tracker7]

Tonight was the second class of my Citizen's Fire Academy course. History of the LFD, fire prevention, chaplaincy, and arson investigation.

LFD's chaplain is a former 10th Mountain soldier. His unit participated in the Blackhawk Down rescue.

I met a BATFE-trained and -certified arson investigation dog, a madly friendly black Lab named Garvey. Got to see him run through a mock fire scene, seeking and pointing out accelerants. He can identify about two dozen accelerants,with specific body language to show his handler exactly where the material is on a scene.

This is already a heck of a great experience, and there are still 8 classes to go.

Comments

[hafwit.livejournal.com]

That is one impressive dog!

[tracker7.livejournal.com]

His behavior was really something. He's fed when he finds accelerant traces, so twice a day, he runs through an arson simulation to stay in practice and, well, get food. He's fed a particular kind of snack to signal him that his work time is over. Last night, he came out, did his thing, and didn't do much more than look at those of us in the class watching him. As soon as he got that day's-over snack, he became a very friendly and playful and goofy four-year-old black Lab and wanted to meet all of these new people. Amazing.