Stafford County Fire and Rescue’s newest arson investigator is a two-year-old yellow lab named Duchess who was acquired through a grant from State Farm Insurance. Duchess and her handler Deputy Fire Marshal Ben Gouldman recently completed 200 hours of training at State Farm’s Accelerant Detection Canine School, located in Maine. Ben and Duchess will assist during fire investigations in determining whether or not ignitable liquids (accelerants) were present at the time of a fire. She may also be used to detect ignitable liquids on a suspect’s clothing or inside of a vehicle used to transport such liquids.
Duchess is the department’s first accelerant detection canine; the members of the department are excited to have her join the Stafford County Fire and Rescue family.
