Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service was one of the first Fire Authorities in the UK to employ the services of a fire investigation dog team in the late 1990s. The benefits of investing in such a team are well documented and the first dog team Nick and Titan attended many high profile incidents across the county. Following their retirement, BFRS recruited their current team of Kerry and Barney in 2006.

Barney was adopted by his handler in 2002 from the South Bucks Branch of the RSPCA. He was trained in obedience and agility and following the appointment of his handler Kerry by BFRS in 2006 as a fire investigation dog handler, he began training to be a Fire Investigation Dog.

Kerry and Barney were trained together by Dave Peplow of SCS International in Lancashire and following a successful certification in November 2006, they joined BFRS Fire Investigation Team.

Barney is called to incidents to assist the Fire Investigators in establishing if ignitable liquids have been used to start or accelerate a fire. Barney searches the debris and damage of a fire scene to locate any remaining traces of ignitable liquids. He is able to recognise all of the readily available ignitable liquids, for example, petrol, diesel, paraffin, barbecue lighter fuel, white spirit, cellulose thinners, cigarette lighter fuel.

Once Barney has located an ignitable liquid he will then indicate the area of greatest concentration. Barney’s indication is ‘passive’, which means that when a source is located he will point with his nose to the exact area and hold his position until he is released by his handler. This is the location where the Fire Investigator will take a sample for analysis. It remains the task of the Fire Investigator to determine the relevance of any finds made by Barney. Barney’s reward is praise from Kerry and a good game with a tennis ball.

Barney is also an asset for the community safety team. He attends schools, county shows and community safety events and works as a vital part of the arson prevention team. The possibility of detection tends to deter less resolute arsonists, thereby reducing the incidence of deliberate fire-setting.

During his first year, Barney has attended numerous incidents and has been such a valuable resource to the Fire Investigation Team that BFRS has invested in a second dog to work alongside Barney. Plans are in place to have the new dog operational by May 2008.

It is important that Barney and the new fire dog have a good relationship with their handler so when off duty they live at home with Kerry and her three other pet dogs, Ella – German Shepherd, Blaze – Border Collie and Rio – Cocker/Springer Spaniel. At the end of his working life he will remain with Kerry.