ACCELERANT DETECTION K-9 CHARLIE RETIRES
STATEWIDE (October 28, 2016) - The
Office of the State Fire Marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives (ATF) today announced the retirement of Accelerant Detection
Canine Charlie. Charlie has worked over
500 fire scenes throughout the State of Maryland. Those fire scenes that Charlie and his
handler, Senior Deputy State Fire Marshal John Nelson, responded and worked led
to numerous felony arrests. After nearly
nine years of dedicated service to the Office of the State Fire Marshal and
many friends throughout the state, Monday, October 31st will be
Charlies last official day. Charlie’s
last investigations were the scene of a double fatal fire in Cecil County and in
incendiary dwelling fire in Charles County on October 21st.
Charlie, a black Labrador retriever was
born on October 28, 2006 and joined the OSFM/ATF team in December 2008 after
graduating from the ATF accelerant detection K-9 school in Front Royal Virginia. Prior to using his keen sense of smell,
Charlie worked for Guiding Eyes for the Blind.
Charlie and Senior Deputy Nelson who is assigned to the Southern
Regional Office have lived, ate, breathed and worked together ever since. ATF
canines use a food reward eating regiment which requires them to be hand fed
each day including weekends and holidays. Nelson determined that Charlie has
conducted 87,000 alerts during in his career, and therefore has bent down to
reward him with food 87,000 times. When
asked if there was any particular investigation that was memorable Nelson stated
“I can't say there is
one particular one, there have been so many. From working in every part of
Maryland and surrounding states, we have been to just about every type of fire
scene imaginable. From apartments, restaurants, businesses, homes, shed, barns,
vehicles, and even woods fires. Charlie always worked well and was a valuable
tool that has been a great partner, co-worker in the office and a part of my
family. Usually when the phone rang in the middle of the night Charlie
was sitting at the door ready to go”.
Charlie has made a major contribution to law
enforcement and will now enjoy his free time with Senior Deputy Nelson and his
family in Southern Maryland. “Charlie is a very special dog and his hard
work will now be rewarded with a great retirement package, not having to work
for his food”…Nelson added with a smile.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal exclusively
utilizes ATF Accelerant Detection Canines. “The
ATF Accelerant Detection Canine Program and its staff are the best in the world.
The K-9 teams they put out are top notch.
Senior Deputy Nelson and Charlie has been a great asset to the State of
Maryland and surrounding areas, and no matter what time of day or night they
were always at the ready to assist investigators.” stated State Fire
Marshal Brian Geraci
Senior Deputy Nelson won’t be long without
a new partner. In fact, the Office of the State Fire Marshal is so impressed
with the value a canine brings to a fire scene that they are sending him to the
program again. Senior Deputy Nelson will begin the 6-week training ADC program
on the same day Charlies retires. He will be joined by Senior Deputy Melissa
Bean of the Southern Regional Office who was also accepted into the program. “There
are currently less than 50 accelerant detection K-9 teams in the country and
the fact we are the only agency in the country to have 2 is amazing, the fact
we will have 4 is unprecedented” added Geraci.
 
  The
Office of the State Fire Marshal is an agency of the Department of
State Police dedicated to helping protect citizens from fire and
explosion through a comprehensive program of education,
inspection, investigation and fire protection engineering. For more
information on fire safety call 1-800-525-3124, log onto our website at: Maryland State Fire Marshal and/or our Facebook Page.
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