CHULA VISTA (KGTV) — Some of the country's most skilled fire investigation dogs are putting their noses to the test in Chula Vista.
About 14 ignitable-liquid detection K-9 teams from across the country gathered this week for a three-day re-certification training hosted by the Chula Vista Fire Department.
The dogs are trained to detect ignitable liquids — from gasoline and diesel to lighter fluid — and assist fire investigators in determining the cause and origin of fires.
The re-certification training is hosted in a new location every year, and the Chula Vista Fire Department brought it back to the West Coast for the first time in more than 20 years.
According to the National Institutes of Health, dogs have 125 to 300 million times more olfactory receptors than humans, who have only about five million. To break that down, that means dogs can pick up 60 times more scents than the average human, allowing them to detect odors people cannot smell.
When a K-9 sits during a search, that signals they have found the target scent. If they keep moving, there is no alert.
Maggie Greene, a fire inspector, investigator, and K-9 handler with the Chula Vista Fire Department and County of San Diego, said the K-9s play a critical supporting role in fire investigations.
"They are a tool that assists fire investigations in locating areas where evidence could be collected and sent to the laboratory, and they have a higher probability of coming back positive," Greene said.
Greene's dog, Hannah, is one of only two certified ignitable-liquid detection K-9s in San Diego County and has already contributed to active fire investigations.
The K-9s start training as puppies, go through an academy, and log hundreds of hours of training before they can be deployed to structure fires, outdoor fires, and more. Greene said they also learn to ignore ordinary combustibles that burn in a typical house or building fire, focusing only on ignitable liquids.
Re-certification is also required by law.
John Papadakis, a handler with the Montebello Fire Department, said the certification — along with daily training logs — gives his dog, Delta, who's 6 years old, credibility if a fire investigation she assisted with ever goes to court.
"She's deployed to high-dollar loss fires, anything over $2 million, or a fatality, or if someone gets injured," Papadakis said.
During the re-certification, Delta and the other K-9s were tested on multiple drills, including inside a simulated burn building, where their ability to locate target scents was evaluated.
Papadakis said he wasn't worried about Delta's ability to be re-certified, because her instincts always kick in like they have since she was a pup.
"So when I first got her, we had a call to an apartment fire, and sure enough she does her thing and she gave me a lot of alerts," Papadakis said.
The K-9's certification will be valid for one year before they'll have to re-certify.
