Lucille, Altoona’s new arson dog, was sleeping on her side on the floor at a City Council meeting this week, oblivious to officials and guests, many of whom had come to see her introduced to the public.
“You’ll see a change in her demeanor,” Lucille’ handler, acting fire inspector Justin Smithmyer, predicted as he walked away from the podium to go get some food in preparation for Lucille to demonstrate how she could find a few drops of gasoline Smithmyer had placed around the room.
Lucille lived up to Smithmyer’s word, appearing with her tail bouncing and when he said “seek,” accompanying him around with her nose to the ground, sinking on her belly each time she located a gas leak.
Lucille is the city’s second arson dog, following Tyra, who retired recently with her handler, former fire inspector Tim Hughes, and both of them were present at the gathering for Lucille’s debut.
Smithmyer and Lucille will assist with the investigation of fires in multiple counties in central and southwestern Pennsylvania, according to Fire Chief Tim Hileman.
Huges and Tyra had previously worked as assistant fire inspectors, and when they retired, Smithmyer stepped in as Hughes’ replacement. Given that Smithmyer grew up with dogs, it was a “wonderful fit,” he said
Lucille was introduced to him at Maine Specialty Dogs in New England. Smithmyer claimed they trained for four weeks, every day, including weekends, for a total of around 300 hours. There were five field tests in which they collaborated. Lucille had to dig into a can 2.5 weeks ago to uncover a third of a drop of gasoline, as well as wood and burning paper. He also had to take a 50-question fill-in-the-blank test.
According to a handout from State Farm, which covered all of the training costs, dogs have up to 300 million olfactory receptors, 50 times more than humans. According to the handout, the area of a dog’s brain that evaluates odors is 40 times larger than that of humans.
The “food reward” approach is used by arson dogs, which eat only as a reward for identifying an accelerant, whether in training or on the job. They always eat directly from the hand of their handler.
Tuesday, Smithmyer wore a rag around his waist to clean his hand after the demonstration. She’s “like a finely tuned athlete,” Smithmyer said. They train six to eight times every day.
Lucille, who is two years old, stays with Smithmyer and plays with his two sons, ages three and eight. Lucille will eventually retire and become the Smithmyers’ pet, at which point she will be able to learn to eat from a dish.
Smithmyer estimates that they can live for 14 to 16 years. Smithmyer has a bag with him that contains remedies in case Lucille comes into contact with anything dangerous at a fire site.
The chief wrapped a badge affixed to a leather strap around Lucille's harness after the presentation. Hileman declared, “Lucille is now official.”
“I love this little girl,” Smithmyer said.