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June 15, 2004

Dangers of the job

Dogs are increasingly used in searching debris and other areas, particularly in detecting trapped victims, or in finding contraband of one sort or another. This is not a new idea; it is one that has been in use for centuries. In the Fire and Rescue Services we use them for detecting accelerant at fire scenes where we have reason to believe there has been foul play, and in natural disasters (or manmade ones, occassionally) where there may be people trapped beneath piles of rubble or collapsed buildings.

Occassionally we also have a reminder that it is dangerous work. Yesterday, one of our accelerant detector dogs was sent into a first floor room in a house which had suffered a severe fire. Men had been working in the room up to a few minutes before the dog was sent in. The dog had hardly begun his search when the floor collapsed and the dog has been severely injured. Several other members of the team had narrow escapes or minor injuries, but the dog and his handler are a very special team, one built out of mutual respect and - yes - love. It will be months before the dog is fit to work again, even if his injuries permit it, but the bond will be a difficult one to replace. His handler is off work looking after his team mate and I would ask your prayers for both of them as they deal with this.

It is a salutory warning to us all, in fact, as it reminds us that it is a dangerous and difficult job - one where there are often deliberate attempts to hinder or injure investigators or fire fighters. It is not that long ago that in the same Brigade area a fire fighter was killed by a deliberately planted gas cylinder exploding. Let us hope that Sam and his handler have not been victims of a similarly twisted mind.

Posted by The Gray Monk at June 15, 2004 12:50 PM