GEORGETOWN, Del. - Deputy Fire Marshal Michael Pfaffenhauser and newly trained K9 PJ were been announced as Delaware's new State Farm Arson Dog team Wednesday.
According to the Fire Marshal, 2-year-old PJ is the first arson dog trained through the State Farm Arson Dog Program. They say that PJ is trained to smell accelerants on buildings, people, and surrounding areas after a fire takes place.
"I can put PJ in a burn structure prvovided it's safe and he can sniff the whole structure and help us determine if there's potentially ignitable liquids,: says Pfaffenhauser, "What happens is once PJ alerts and gives us the idea that we need to be looking in this area we collect samples."
The Fire Marshal said that PJ went through hundreds of hours of training over 4 weeks to prepare him for his new job. They say that the current arson dog K9 Tanya will be retiring this year.