Duluth Fire Department Adds Arson Dog to its Ranks

DULUTH, Minn. – The Duluth Fire Department has introduced a new tool for detecting flammable liquids at fire scenes. This new tool will also be used by other departments in the Duluth area.

The tool? A three-year-old Lab named Jack, who has been on the force since April 1st. His handler, Adam Casillas says he has already been to three fire scenes in his first week on the job.

Jack was originally going to be trained as a seeing-eye dog, but he had too much energy for that role. Maine Specialty Dogs then took Jack into its six-month program for ignitable detection, or what’s more commonly known as an arson dog.

“50 percent of his nose is dedicated to the sense of smell,” said Assistant Fire Marshal Adam Casilla.  “So that’s what he’s doing, his nose is down searching for it. We have 3 to 5 million receptors for smell, he has 225 to 300 million receptors.  Jack can go into a house and within minutes he has picked up the scent and is literally dragging where it is, letting me know this is where I need to collect a sample. Before, it would literally take us hours to comb through and Jack can do that job in minutes.”

Jack is part of a regional program and will be available to other local departments.  There was a K9 Investigator in the past housed at the Cloquet Fire District, but that K9 officer is now retired.

Jack, whose badge number is 413, works exclusively with his handler Casillas. He also lives with him, his wife, and their three daughters.