Following more than a month of training in Maine, Brinnon Fire Chief Patrick Nicholson is expected to return to Jefferson County in May with the only certified arson dog west of the Cascades.

Nicholson, who is also a firefighter with East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR), learned in February that he had earned a $25,000 scholarship to take part in State Farm Insurance’s Arson Dog Program, which provides the dogs, matches them to handlers and certifies accelerant-detection canines during a five-week training in Alfred, Maine, led by Maine Specialty Dogs and the Maine Criminal Justice Academy.

“I have put a lot of thought and consideration into this,” said Nicholson, who applied in February 2014 after finding out the only certified dog west of the Cascades – in Snohomish County – had retired. The only other such dog in the state is in Spokane, he said.

“I have been presented with an opportunity that would benefit both the department and the community,” Nicholson said upon presenting the opportunity to EJFR’s board of commissioners on March 18 in the hope of securing its blessing to have the dog with him in fire stations while on duty with EJFR eight days each month. EJFR would bear no financial responsibility, he said.

“I think this is kind of a big deal and brings up questions we have yet to ask,” said board chair Rich Stapf Jr., adding that a policy for personally owned pets in fire stations would need to be adopted. “It seems like it’s a very worthwhile, nice-to-have service, but we need to make sure we don’t make a rushed, eleventh-hour decision.”

Nicholson, who is one of nine people selected for this year’s training opportunity, has the support of his board in Brinnon as well as Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Michael Haas, he said. EJFR’s board is expected to take up the issue at its next meeting on April 15.

“I’m confident that we’ll establish this,” said Nicholson, who is currently helping to draft a policy and is set to attend training from April 12 to May 8. “I feel they are supporting it and are trying to fast-track it. Otherwise, I won’t be able to have my K-9 with me while on duty with EJFR until they approve it.”

In 2012, Nicholson helped revive the Jefferson County Fire Investigation Task Force, which includes representatives of all the county’s public safety agencies and meets quarterly to review fires.

HELP INVESTIGATIONS

“In my experience, the cause of over half of the fires I investigate is undetermined, because there’s no witnesses and evidence gets burned up,” he said, adding that the use of a certified dog can increase arson conviction rates by as much as 50 percent. “Arson is one of the most difficult crimes to prosecute because evidence gets destroyed. When everything is just a big heap of ashes, what do you do with that? It’s typically difficult or impossible for investigators to determine the cause. People will think before they consider committing arson, because they’ll know there’s a dog in the area to detect it.”

Nicholson is currently certified to investigate structure fires, explosions and vehicle fires.

The dog would become Nicholson’s personal pet, living at his home and accompanying him while on duty.

“The dog would be used at least monthly, if not weekly, on various investigations,” he said. “So it’s more convenient for everybody if I can have my K-9 with me all the time.”

Nicholson and his dog would be available to travel to fire scenes throughout the county as well as those in other counties throughout western Washington. If an out-of-county call for service comes in while Nicholson is on duty with EJFR, the duty chief would decide whether and when to allow Nicholson to respond.

“I would not expect the department to allow me to go to too many out-of-county calls,” he said. “I have no reasonable expectation of being turned loose for just any call.”

If out-of-county calls become frequent and costly, Nicholson said he would develop a reimbursement fee schedule to cover his time and fuel, which Brinnon’s board would adopt and distribute to other agencies.

As his primary sponsoring agency, the Brinnon Fire Department would cover the cost of recertification each year, said Nicholson, who is also securing sponsors for food and veterinary health care.

Nicholson also sees this as an opportunity for greater outreach.

“I want to integrate this into the community and schools, because this is more than an investigative tool, it’s a crime deterrent,” he said.

Currently, there are 88 certified arson dogs active across the country.

As a reserve deputy with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Nicholson said he plans to present this opportunity to Sheriff Dave Stanko soon, as well.