Gilbert Fire and Rescue’s best arson investigator is a 4-year-old Lab named Zeta
Zehring is the fire investigator for Gilbert Fire and Rescue, and Zeta is trained to detect arson.
“Who … is … going … to … jail … today?”
Zeta, who’s 4, points her nose at my right hand, where the wood is tucked between my fingers.
“You are!” Zehring tells me as he feeds Zeta a treat.
Zeta trains twice a day as an accelerant detection canine for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. She’s the only such dog in Arizona, and has solved 95 arson cases.
In just 20 minutes, Zeta can determine the cause of a fire, something that can take investigators hours or days.
Zeta can detect and signal minute traces of six fire accelerants. She sits when she smells an accelerant and then “shows,” or puts her nose on the exact spot where the accelerant is.
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