Come July, Brinnon Fire Department Chief Patrick Nicholson and 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever Allie are to be Washington's only certified arson detection team.

Nicholson, who also works about 10 days a month as a firefighter with East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR), returned May 8 from a five-week training program in Alfred, Maine, where he and Allie became a team certified by the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

“It was pretty intense,” Nicholson said of the State Farm Insurance–sponsored Arson Dog Program, for which he had received a $25,000 scholarship to attend.

“I was the only person there from west of the Mississippi. They told me that the Spokane arson dog plans to retire this year [in July], which would leave Allie and I as the only team in the state.”

Now, the otherwise inseparable pair must work around an unwelcoming workplace policy that EJFR's board of directors expects to adopt during its June 17 meeting.

“We've never addressed animals in the firehouse,” EJFR Chief Gordon Pomeroy said. “When this came up, a number of employees complained of allergies to pets such as cats or dogs. If we bring animals into the firehouse and have people with allergies, we are creating an unsafe or hostile work environment, so it's easier to just say no pets allowed in the firehouse.

"And it sheds like hell. It brushed against my black pants, and I was picking it out for the rest of the day.”

To which Nicholson said, “If they are concerned about dander, I will vacuum two or three times a day.”

When Nicholson came back to work May 13 upon returning from Maine, Pomeroy told him he would not be allowed to keep Allie in a kennel at any of EJFR's three fire stations, although Nicholson figured that was temporary and that the board was working toward a policy that would allow a certified arson dog.

“I had no idea they [the board] would go in this direction,” said Nicholson, who had presented the idea of having an arson dog with him on duty during a March 18 board meeting. “I have listened to everyone's concerns and addressed them. I was under the impression they liked the idea.”

Board chair Rich Stapf Jr. said he was impressed by Nicholson's presentation, but doesn't see the arson dog program as a high priority, considering fire calls are rather infrequent and a only fraction of those turn out to be arsons.

“I think you have to look at how many potential arson cases we get in a year,” Stapf said. “I don't think we had a problem going into this.”

While some 80 percent of EJFR's calls are for medical aid, about 5 percent are for fires, said Bill Beezley, the department's public information officer.

Nicholson – who is certified to investigate structure fires, explosions and vehicle fires, and in 2012 helped revive the Jefferson County Fire Investigation Task Force – said more than half of the fires he investigates go unsolved. Use of a certified dog can increase arson conviction rates by as much as 50 percent, he said.

“I am hopeful the board will see the benefits of the dog and what it can do for the department and the community and find a way to make this work,” said Nicholson, who has the full support of his board of directors in Brinnon and said he has no intention of leaving his job with EJFR over the disagreement. “I will respect any direction East Jefferson's board decides to go.”

Pomeroy said EJFR is still interested in using Allie's services, and Nicholson said he's happy to provide those services, but Nicholson, who lives in Sequim, said restricting Allie from EJFR's firehouses means he would have to go off-duty to retrieve her from his home when called to investigate a potential arson scene.

“I don't want to give the impression that I'm not going to make the dog available to them, but it would be so much easier and more efficient if they let me have her kenneled in my room at the station,” Nicholson said.

EJFR's policy aside, Nicholson said he hopes to bring Allie to area schools on a quarterly basis to educate children about fire safety, and conduct educational demonstrations for county commissioners, city councilors and for any interested community group.

Nicholson also plans to conduct demonstrations during an annual open house on June 17 at the Brinnon Fire Department at 272 Schoolhouse Road.