Cedar Rapids Fire Department introduces its new arson dog

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Cedar Rapids Fire Department's newest tool in investigations is a black Labrador retriever named Matilda.

Nicknamed Tillie, the nearly 2-year-old dog is partnered with fire investigator Capt. Steve Mast. Together, the pair will investigate accidental and intentional fires in the city to try to determine the causes.

'She's a great resource,” said Mast, an eight-year employee of the department and a former Linn County reserve sheriff deputy.

Mast and Matilda trained together in a five-week program put on by Maine Specialty Dogs and were certified by the Main Criminal Justice Academy. The training included handling and preparing for the different searches they perform, as well as getting to know the dog.

'Part of the program is learning how your dog works,” Mast said. 'No two dogs are the same.”

Matilda is trained to sniff out a wide range of fire accelerants, predominantly those that are petroleum-based. Mast said Labrador retrievers are often trained as detection dogs because of their strong desire to work and good disposition.

'They love to sniff,” he said.

Mast's position marries the law enforcement and fire science sides of fire investigations. He uses his knowledge of fire behavior along with collecting evidence and conducting interviews to determine the cause of fires and, when applicable, if criminal charges are warranted. Part of those investigations involve trying to find samples of accelerants that fueled the fires. That's where Matilda comes in.

'I use the dog as a tool to find areas where I take the (accelerant) samples from,” said Mast, noting Matilda will eliminate much of the guesswork in investigations and reduce the number of samples needed to be sent to the state crime laboratory for verification.

Matilda is the third arson dog deployed by the department. Back in 1997, Capt. Al Brockhohn began working with the department's first arson dog, Moe. When Moe died in 2008, Brockhohn was partnered with Ember. When Brockhohn retired last month after a 40-year career, Ember retired with him. According to public safety spokesman Greg Buelow, Brockhohn and Ember investigated 57 fires in 2014. Through Ember's work, 15 samples were collected, all of which were confirmed to contained accelerants. She retired with a perfect record in identifying the presence of ignitable liquids, Buelow said.

Because Matilda is a food reward dog, Mast must work with her every day to maintain her training and health. She eats only when she works, but Mast has to change up her routine to keep her sharp. That means training on nights and weekends, as well.

Buelow said the estimated cost of obtaining and training an arson dog is $25,000. Funding for Matilda was obtained through a State Farm Insurance scholarship program. The scholarship program has helped place 350 arson dog teams in 44 states.

'If it wasn't for State Farm, we wouldn't be able to acquire a dog like this,” Buelow said.