Nov 2007 to Jan 2008

Cracker

28th January – 3rd February – Echo attends a training course run by Lancashire Police and Cracker attempts a difficult search in a burnt out car...

This last week saw the dog team attend a Missing Persons Search Managers’ course run by Lancashire Police. This was mainly aimed at Echo as he is trained to locate people who have gone missing on open moorland and in collapsed building etc.

On Tuesday evening I received a request from one of the Fire Investigation Officers to attend a serious arson attack in the Heywood area of Manchester. I drove from the Lancashire Police Training School near Preston to my home to pick up Cracker and then went on to the incident. When I arrived, the Fire Investigation Officer told me where the dog team needed to search. Cracker searched three areas and indicated the presence of accelerants that could have been used to start the fire in three different locations. Surprisingly she indicated that there was an accelerant in the foot well of a car that been burnt out on the drive of the affected property. This was a difficult location for the dog to get to and was full on water so I was very pleased with her efforts.

On Thursday it was Echo’s turn to work. We had to take part in a large search exercise as part of the Missing Person Course we were on. We used Echo to search the open moorland and he did very well and searched for about 45 minutes before I had to rest his old bones for a while. He did not locate anyone but had lots of fun trying.

21st – 27th January – Echo gets in training for his recertification as an Urban Search and Rescue dog and Cracker helps with another suspected case of arson...

Echo

Cracker was called out this week by Fire Investigation fficer Mick Wellings to investigate a suspected arson attack in the Openshaw area of Manchester. On arrival the dog team received a brief from the Fire Investigator on where he wanted Cracker to carry out the search. Cracker wore her protective boots to protect her from glass on the floor and searched the property. She carried out a really good search and indicated the presence of an accelerant (substance used to start a fire) in a plastic bottle that was on the floor upstairs so I was really pleased with her efforts.

At the weekend, the dog team again went down to the Fire Service College and this time it was Echo's turn to receive some training. He is going for recertification as an Urban Search and Rescue Dog for the fire brigade. With other dogs from the Urban Search and Rescue dog team, he carried out several searches in various conditions e.g. open air and another on a rubble pile. He passed but he does need a little more training to keep him on top form.

The training also allowed Cracker and Echo to play with 20 other dogs. It was chaos but they enjoyed themselves and slept well that night because they were totally exhausted. Come back next week to find out how the dogs get on at a Police course.

14th – 20th January – Cracker detects an ignitable liquid at a arson attack on a pub and Echo shows off to students at the Fire Service College in the Cotswolds...

The last week has seen the dog unit attend two incidents and also go to the fire service college to give a presentation to some Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) students on USAR dogs.

Cracker attended two fire investigation incidents this week. On Saturday, we received a call from the Deputy Fire Investigation Team Leader Gary Dewar. Cracker was required to carry out a search of a fridge warehouse in the Miles Platting area of Manchester. There had been a fire in the building which took 25 firefighters to put the fire our using two jets and breathing apparatus.

Early Saturday morning, there was a fire in a fridge warehouse in Miles Platting. It took over 25 firefighters, two jets and breathing apparatus to put the fire out. Once the fire had been extinguished, me and Cracker were called to the scene by Deputy Fire Investigation Team Leader Gary Dewar. Cracker searched the building trying to detect any substances which may have been used to start the fire. She did an excellent line search but found nothing.

The next day, we got a call from Watch Manager Mike Wellings. There had been a suspected arson attack on a pub in Worsley. On arrival the police asked me to undertake a search of the entrance hall. Cracker had to wear protective boots to protect her paws from the large amount of glass in the area. She went into the search at full speed and gave a great indication of an ignitable liquid in the entrance hall. As a result the police took a sample for forensic analysis. This was a great result and will help the Police catch the culprits of the fire.

Later that evening, the dog team travelled down to the fire service college in the Cotswolds to give a lecture on Fire Service dogs on the Monday morning , this was a great opportunity to undertake some training and also to show the dogs off to other brigades who were training at the time.

Echo and Mike

7th – 13th January – Cracker investigates fires in a factory, a flat and a house...

The last week has been non stop for Cracker. It started with a request for her to attend a large factory fire in the Newton Heath area of Manchester. She had to wear protective boots to keep her paws safe as the floor was littered with fire debris including lots of glass. When I gave her the search command she went off with her usual vigour and agility. Investigators were interested in an area of the building where they thought they could smell a suspect accelerant that may have been used to start the fire. I sent Cracker over as requested but she ignored the area meaning she could not detect any accelerant so I reported a ‘no find’.

The next day we were mobilised to a house fire in Oldham. We searched a bedroom that had been badly damaged by fire with large holes in the floor. After some discussion with the investigator, we decided to attach Cracker to a long line for her own safety. As I set her off I was watching her like a hawk as she has no fear and I didn't want her falling down one of the holes. She searched well, avoided the holes but found nothing of interest to the investigation team.

Two days later, we were called to a serious flat fire in the Rochdale area. On arrival I was met by the Deputy Fire Investigation Team Leader Gary Dewar. He briefed me on the nature of the incident and what area he needed a search to be carried out on. Due to the serious nature of this fire we had to pass through a police cordon and then start the search from within the property. Cracker showed some interest in one area but I found out that this was due to a melted TV set. When plastic melts it gives off a smell that is very similar to the smell of accelerants and thus it can confuse the dog. This is when I step in to interpret the ‘find’. After several searches at this incident, the team left the incident later that afternoon.

Cracker finished her hectic week on Sunday with a well earned run on the moors with our Urban Search and Rescue Dog, Echo. Despite the cold conditions, Echo couldn’t resist a dip in a very icy lake!

7th December 2007 – 6th January 2008 – Cracker assists Manchester Police and investigates a fire in a derelict pub...

The run up to Christmas was a busy time for the dog unit. We attended several incidents and got involved with some work for Manchester Police. It started with a call to a block of flats in the Salford area. It was suspected that an accelerant had been used to start a fire through the letter box. On arrival I set Cracker off and she did a very good search of the whole flat but found no traces of accelerants. During this incident she had her first trip in a lift and but as always took it in her stride.

The next day, we went to Atherton, again we tried to identify if a letter box had been used to start a fire, but despite a good search in some difficult conditions, Cracker found no trace of accelerants.

On 23rd January, the dog unit was requested by Manchester Police to assist with some searches at several locations. Cracker worked hard and I was pleased that she worked round some good distractions like chocolate bars on the floor!! She showed some interest in them but knew not to touch them.

We then spent a week in France over the new year and the dogs had a well earned rest in kennels.

On our return we got straight back into the work with a call to the Salford area to a derelict pub that had been set on fire. This was a good search to get Cracker back into the swing of things. She worked well with good agility and drive.

The team has a busy period ahead with Cracker due for recertification in March at the Lancashire County Fire Service Training Centre and Echo due for re-evaluation in February, so its time to get our training heads on for the next few weeks and ensure we keep the high standards and reputation that the Manchester dog team have!

10th - 16th December - A quiet week but the dogs spend a night on the moors and Cracker investigates a wheelie bin fire...

A quiet week for the dog unit. Echo received a call on Thursday evening to a possible collapsed structure in the Stockport area of Manchester, however before his arrival at the incident he was told he was not needed as it turned out to be a false alarm. Cracker was deployed to Denton on the same day to investigate a wheelie bin fire outside a house. However she did not discover any accelerants.

We also spent a very cold night out on the moors with Bolton Mountain Rescue Unit. Even though it was about 2°C and very cold, the dogs loved playing in the ice streams and Echo did some good training searches over some very tough ground!

There will be no update on the dogs blog next week but catch up with us in two weeks time to see what we have been up to over the festive season.

3rd to 9th December – Cracker carries out some technical training and meets young people who have committed arson...

This week, Echo yet again undertook some training with the Bolton Mountain Rescue Team. He is really taking well to this type of work and seems to enjoy the freedom of the hills to work on. Cracker did some technical training – this involved trying to catch her out by putting things in a room that smell like accelerants (e.g. liquids that could be used to start a fire such as petrol) but they are not. She has to ignore them. She did incredibly well and showed me exactly where the real accelerants were.

On Wednesday, I took the dogs to meet some young people who had been involved in committing arson. They met Cracker and I explained to them how she is used by the fire investigation team and the Police to investigate cases of suspected arson.

26th November – 2nd December - Cracker takes great leaps at an incident and Echo tackles some difficult terrain on a training exercise…

A quiet week for the unit – Cracker went to one incident in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. She had to search a basement area after a suspected case of arson. She did very well searching over hundreds of wet cardboard boxes and she even managed a fantastic and daring leap onto a high ledge to give it a sniff! I was extremely pleased with her efforts.

On Tuesday Echo went out with Bolton Mountain Rescue Team to train with their dog team. He did very well over some hard terrain. He also had to contend with a four month old German pointer dog who was intent on teasing him by climbing on his back! To Echo’s credit, he tolerated the young pup well.

During the latter half of the week I spent some time on the moors with the dogs to give them some time off and just let them have a play. As usual Cracker chased Echo until he was totally exhausted but they both enjoyed it!

Cracker at an incident

19th – 25th November – Cracker investigates a fire at a car wash and Echo joins forces with the Urban Search and Rescue Team…

Early in the week – we began with some intense training with Echo which involved some difficult searches for him to get back into the swing of things. On Tuesday Cracker got a call to Manchester City Centre to investigate a fire in a commercial property. She did very well as it was a difficult location for her to search but found no traces of accelerants. On Friday, Cracker was called out again to a commercial car wash after a fire the night before. She worked fantastically well on this incident and pin pointed two areas where she detected accelerants both internal and external to the property. The Police took the samples away for analysis and these could help to determine the cause of the fire.

Later that day Echo got a call to an old hospital in the Manchester area to search for a person who had gone missing. Working with our Urban Search & Rescue Team (USAR), Echo carried out a systematic search of the buildings for about four hours. I was very pleased with the way he worked. It was good to get Echo out on a real incident and good for the USAR team to work with him.

On Saturday I took the dogs onto the hills so they could just run and play for a couple of hours and they both had fun jumping in the rivers and just play fighting with each other.

12th - 18th November - Cracker investigates a fire in a temporary mosque and the dogs go for a training exercise at Rivington Pike...

A quiet one for the dog unit this week. Cracker attended an incident in the Moss Side area.A building which was temporary being used as mosque had caught fire. It took more than 30 firefighters to put out the blaze. Cracker had a good search through the building afterwards but she found no traces of accelerants which could have been used to start the fire. I also took the dogs up to Rivington Pike for a good run on Wednesday. It's an excellent exercise for the dogs as they really enjoy it and it builds fitness and stamina.

Echo and the USAR team

5th - 11th November - Quality training for the dogs and a Crime and Disorder day...

Last week, Echo undertook some training with Bolton Mountain Rescue Team and did very well. I also tried to introduce him to some accelerants (e.g. petrol, paraffin etc which may have been used to start a fire and Cracker is trained to detect) but I don’t think he got the concept of it! Cracker was introduced to the new Fire Investigation K9 training rig that I have built to assess Cracker's ability to detect accelerants. It worked well and I hope to introduce this form of training to other dog units in the UK.

On Saturday we attended the Crime and Disorder day at Ashton Fire Station and the dogs as usual were a big hit with the crowds. The public asked lots of questions and we got the message across that if arson is somebody’s intent, then Cracker will catch them! They were all very impressed by the dog's behaviour at the event; however we found out that Echo does not like brass bands! He went mad every time they started playing.