Brownwood City Councilmen discussed today the possibility of adding a Arson K-9 program to the Brownwood Fire Department.

Brownwood City Manager Bobby Rountree presented the information regarding the program to the city council that would be started through a grant sponsored by State Farm Insurance.

The councilmen agreed that the city should apply for the grant and pursue adding the program.  If the grant is approved, the dog and training will be paid for through the program.  Fire Marshall Buddy Preston will be the dog handler and in charge of the project.

The dogs are raised and trained through a company called Maine Specialty Dogs out of Maine.  If the grant is approved, Preston will go to Maine for training with the dog.  If all goes as planned, the program will be fully implemented in 2011.

An accelerant–detection K-9 (arson dog) is a canine that has been trained to sniff out minute traces of accelerants that may have been used to start a fire. These K-9s go through extensive training before becoming certified arson dogs. Each arson dog is part of a team that is comprised of the K-9 and its handler. The handler is a certified officer that has been trained to investigate fire scenes. Not only are these teams trained to investigate the causes of fires but they are responsible for providing community outreach programs and educational seminars on fire prevention and safety.