In an age where digital technology is taking over, man’s best friend is still the best weapon for firefighters to detect how fires have started.
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Canine handler Tim Garrett and Sheba, a labrador, were in Nyngan last Friday to investigate a fire that gutted a Nyngan home.
Firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW and the NSW Rural Fire Service were called to the house fire in Nyngan Street just after midnight on Thursday.
The building was engulfed in fire when they arrived and it took firefighters more than two hours to bring the blaze under control.
No one was injured in the fire.
At any given time, NSW Fire and Rescue’s three canine units can be deployed to the scene of a blaze in an effort to see if there are any traces of an accelerant.
The dogs used are highly-trained to detect any possible flammable liquids, such as petrol or kerosene, which can dramatically assist and speed up investigations into the cause of a fire.
“I’m part of the Fire Investigation and Research unit and we can be sent anywhere in NSW to investigate how a fire starts and how it develops,” Mr Garrett said.
“They search a scene and when they detect an accelerant, they sit down and give it their attention.”
The job involved a lot of travelling but Mr Garrett said Sheba didn’t mind the long car trips at all.
“We might have times where we go a week without a callout but then we have busy periods like lately, where we have at least one job every day.
“We had three jobs in Dubbo and Nyngan on Friday, I had a day at home and then it was out to Cobar today,” he said.
“Sheba actually loves travelling. Being in the back of the car means there is a good chance she will get to play games.
“That’s what accelerant detection is to her. It’s a game and she absolutely loves it.
“The dogs are the rejects from customs. Customs want dogs who will go down a line and focus on that whereas we are looking for dogs that can be independent of the handler and just make their way around a scene, looking for accelerants.
“It works really well.”
Sheba lives and works exclusively with Mr Garrett and the other two dogs are exclusive to their handlers.
But despite spending so much time together, Mr Garrett said it was important that fire dogs weren’t treated as pets.
After attending more than 700 fire sites, Sheba is in her final year of work.
She recently turned nine years old and the dogs were retired at 10.
“She is in her final year. She will be retired off and I will get a new dog to work with.
“Handlers have the first chance to adopt the dog but if I did that it would prevent me from getting a new one and remaining part of the canine unit.
“Sheba will be advertised internally and I will get to interview potential owners for her.”