June to Aug 2007

27^th August to 2^nd September - A busy week for Cracker including a courageous search through a building collapse…

On Saturday, we were called out to a building fire in Cheetham Hill. When we arrived I was instructed to undertake a search with Cracker to see if accelerants (e.g. petrol or other liquids which could have been used to start the fire) had been used. As the building had collapsed it was a daring search for Cracker to undertake. After an assessment, I put her boots on and sent her in. She performed magnificently and negotiated the rubble with great speed and agility.  She showed some ‘interest’ in one area but gave no positive indications. I was though very pleased with her efforts during this search.

We had a quiet night until about 7am on Sunday morning when I was called out to Christies Hospital Day Nursery. A fire had broken out during the night and it was suspected that it had been started deliberately. Cracker worked well and got through a six foot window from a standing jump! However, there was no trace of accelerant detected by her.

Afterwards we proceeded to the Official Museum of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service in Rochdale for an Open Day. I had only been there for about 30 minutes though before we had to leave due to an incident in Ashton-under-Lyne. On arrival I found that because of the nature of the building it wasn’t practical to use our dog as the premises was used as a spray paint shop with lots of accelerant already on the floor from production processes.

On the way back from this incident we were re-directed to an address in Wythenshawe where an arson attack had taken place the night before. On arrival I was met by the Police who opened the property for me. After searching Cracker detected a substance in two areas. I was very pleased with her - the samples were taken by the Police for analysis so we will have to wait for the results! After this incident I stood the dog team down from duty for a couple of hours to allow them to rest.

It was a busy weekend but a productive one with four incidents attended and two great finds by Cracker. Echo attended all the incidents as he does not like being left out of anything!

20^th – 26^th August - Cracker suffers some injuries and Echo trains with Bolton Mountain Rescue team…

It’s been a busy week for our dogs. Cracker has been deployed three times over the weekend to various locations around the county to investigate the causes of different fires. Unfortunately she sustained some injuries during the search operations, first a cut pad on her foot and then a cut nose. However, I recently attended the National Veterinary Course in Berkshire so I knew exactly what to do to treat her injuries. I have now taken the decision to work her in boots at all times.

On Saturday, both dogs attended the Manchester Pride event. They were a big hit with the crowds. I was assisted with the dogs by my brother Gary who also works for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and is Deputy Team Leader of the Fire Investigation Unit.

As for Echo, he has been undertaking his usual round of training as part of the national Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) K9 Response Team. He has been working with Bolton Mountain Rescue Team to improve his ‘open area’ search abilities. This type of work is not what he has been trained for but he has took to it with varying degrees of success! The team is now preparing for the national K9 assessment that is to be held in Manchester at the end of September. 

On Thursday, we had a visit from a dog handler from Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service. He was interested in our training methods as they also have a canine assistant in the form of Jess, a chocolate labrador.

21st August - Back from my break...

Whist I was away on holiday, the dogs stayed in kennels in Ormskirk. I picked them up this week and they seemed really happy to see me. They ran as fast as they could to me and jumped straight into the back of the van. On the way home I took them to Lancashire County Fire Brigade International Training Centre for a good run on the football area. They are now ready to get back to work after a much deserved break.

9th - 14th July 2007 - Mike learns first aid for dogs...

This week, me and the dogs attended the National Veterinary First Aid course in Hampshire. It was really interesting and taught me all I need to know about looking after Cracker and Echo. The dogs came with me on the course and they played well with the other dogs involved. Cracker was so chilled out and was a pleasure to have along, however Echo has a tendency to be a little dominant with other dogs so I had to keep an eye on him. The dogs were very well behaved as they had to put up with a lot of poking and prodding so we could demonstrate first aids skills on the dogs. I am going on holiday for a few weeks and the dogs will get a well earned rest so please catch up with my blog at the end of August.

25th June - 1st July 2007 - Fire investigation and training not to chase sheep...

Its been an interesting week for Echo and Cracker, It started with a fire investigation job in Ashton for Cracker on Monday at some flats. She worked hard but unfortunately she found no traces of ignitable materials which would help us determine the cause of the fire. On Thursday, she was in action again after a fire at a pub in Oldham.

Inbetween this work, both dogs undertook some training at SCS international at Washington hall training centre in Lancashire.

At the weekend, both dogs went to Wales and took part in some stock testing. This is a training session that is intended to put the dogs off chasing sheep. Echo did very well but unfortunately Cracker was more interested in playing with the sheep than working round them! However, luckily by the end of the day, she managed to get the idea.

18th - 24th June 2007 - Police crime scene course and Cracker investigates...

In the last week the dogs have been very busy, they attended a police crime scene course to demonstrate the use of arson dogs to police officers. Echo also did some search and rescue work at an old mill complex in Chadderton.

Cracker was called to two incidents during the week to investigate how both of the fires had started. At one of the incidents, she managed to detect ignitable liquid twice - which is a great result for her and the team and will help the Police determine whether the fire was started deliberately or not and if so find the people responsible.

On Saturday me and the dogs attended the Horwich Fire Station open day spreading the fire safety message to the community.

11th - 17th June 2007 - Call to a building collapse and canine training course...

For most of the week, Cracker and Echo attended the American Federal Emergency Management Agency's course for search and rescue dogs in Portsmouth. The training was mostly relevant for Echo but Cracker also performed really well, especially in a tunnel complex that surrounded the training venue. The Americans were very impressed by both the dogs and they worked hard for the duration of the week. It was also a great chance for them both to socialise with other dogs. Cracker was particularly delighted by this as she throughly enjoyed running around and playing with the other Urban Search and Rescue dogs.

Echo is part of the national Urban Search and Rescue Team. On Wednesday last week, we got a call for him to attend a building collapse in London. However, after a period on standby he was no longer needed.  

On Saturday, myself and the dogs attended an open day at Wythenshawe fire station. Cracker and Echo were a great hit with the crowds and spent the day strutting around the station yard being treated like kings, as well as of course, promoting the fire safety message. 

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