DETECTION dogs are helping fire investigators out across NSW at scenes like the recent Kurri Kurri industrial fire .
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Xando, who attended the scene of a house fire in Argenton earlier this month, is one of Fire and Rescue NSW's three Ignitable Liquid Detection Canine's. His handler is Ray Irving and together they are part of the Fire Investigation and Research Unit.
"The others at the moment are Xenos who we got in March last year from the same litter as Xando and Gandalf who is about 18 months older," Mr Irving said.
"We've bought our canines off the border force since 1996. We buy them at around eighteen months old and they take around 6 months to train up."
Xenos and handler Craig attended the recent fire at Weston Aluminium, Kurri Kurri.
Mr Irving told the Newcastle Herald there are around twenty structural fires in NSW a day. Most sources he said can be determined by crews on site.
"The canines are taken to fire sites wherever a cause can't be worked out or really serious building fires where the place is destroyed or lives have been lost."
According to Mr Irving all the dogs "do a really great job" detecting ignitable liquids which may have been the source of a fire. He said Xando "gets a win" at almost every site they visit.
"When he detects ignitable liquids he sits down and puts his nose on the spot. He gets a food reward and the other two get play rewards which they prefer," Mr Irving said.
"It might just be fuel for a lawn mower or something but he doesn't know the difference. You have to treat it like a bit of a game for them so they continue to enjoy doing it."
Mr Irving said Xando lives with him most of the year and even at home the two have a close bond.
"They only really interact with their handler so Xando's kennel is down the back of my house and my family isn't allowed to interact with him much," he said.
"That makes the dog think everyone else is really lousy and the handler is the best person in the world."
This made it hard Mr Irving said for his family when he first started being a handler.
"I inherited Opal in 2019 as my first canine," he said.
"My daughter would stare down into the backyard and Opal would stare back up at her so they had this kind of long distance, longing relationship."
Mr Irving said even though it's hard, his daughter understands the importance of sticking to the rules and Opal has since retired from the service at age seven . Most detection dogs are retired by the time they are 9.
When he first began in the job, Mr Irving said his biggest concern was for the health of dogs on site. But given their twelve year lifespan Mr Irving said health risks for the dogs are minimal.
"Carcinogenic problems that humans have such asbestosis have such a long onset period it's past the dog's lifespan," he said.
"They concentrate so hard we keep them on a leash at the site so they don't run into anything dangerous."
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