By Linda A. Krutsinger and

Daily Egyptian Reporters 13

Carbondale’s Fire Investigation Unit is implementing a new time- and cost-efficient tool to investigate suspected arson crimes.

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Beau, a certified, court-accepted expert, is a 15-month-old chocolate Labrador retriever, and the latest arson investigator to join the local firefighters unit.

Cliff Manis, Carbondale fire chief, had a press conference Thursday to welcome Beau. This week is Fire Safety Week.

Capt. John Michalesko was required to attend a five-week training course at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy to learn the procedures and techniques needed to investigate fires using a canine helper.

The dog extends the capabilities of the human investigator, Michalesko said. The scent-discriminating abilities of a canine helper are better than any equipment we can take to a fire scene when arson is suspected.

During a demonstration exercise at the Carbondale Civic Center Thursday, Beau was walked past four coffee-like cans filled with burnt wood, pieces of carpet and other materials.

One small drop of gasoline was placed into two of the cans.

In several passes, and after the cans were rearranged several times, Beau alerted Michalesko to the spiked cans by immediately sitting next to them after he sniffed them.

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Beau was rewarded for his work with applause from the crowd of onlookers and a food treat from his human partner.

Michalesko said that with the help of a canine, fire investigators can do the work in just a matter of a few hours rather than in what used to take days.

Manis said that using the canine at all fire sites will cut the investigation time by about 90 percent.

It is extremely important that fire investigators and law enforcement officials be provided every tool possible to combat this costly and deadly crime, Michalesko said.

State Farm Insurance provides funding to communities throughout the nation with severe arson problems. The funds supply accelerated-detection canines and training for fire departments and law enforcement agencies.

Qualifying fire departments have to prove they can keep a canine investigation team busy, Stacey Shangraw, State Farm Insurance Companies spokeswoman, said. Dogs must investigate 100 fire sites per year.

Beau, who stays with Michalesko 24 hours a day, is expected to work with the arson investigation unit for about nine years.

The $10,000 price tag for the canine investigator and training costs for Michalesko of the Carbondale Fire Department was paid with a grant from State Farm Insurance Companies.

Shangraw said the insurance company, the largest fire insurer in the nation, first sponsored a canine arson investigator in 1993, when the company provided a dog for the Illinois State Fire Marshal’s Office in Cairo.