CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas —
The Corpus Christi Fire Department added a new four-legged member to their team last month and today the public got a chance to see her in action.
Baisa the golden retriever, will serve the fire department as an arson detection dog and assist during investigations.
Baisa was donated to the Corpus Christi Fire Department through State Farm's arson dog program, which has placed over 450 dogs with fire departments in 46 states. CCFD Chief Brandon said that Baisa has already started working on investigations with her handler, and the department is excited to have her join the team.
"Not all fires are arson, but there are cases of arson. Baisa provides us another tool to be able to identify if arson was part of the cause of a fire," Wade said.
As an accelerant detection K9,using her strong sense of smell, Baisa can sniff out even the smallest traces of fire accelerants such as gasoline or lighter fluid during arson investigations.
"When we were awarded that grant, we sent one of our investigators, who was going to be part of the program, to do training with the arson dog and they worked for over 200 hours with that training. It's just a fantastic program. They both passed and now we have them in the city of Corpus Christi as part of our arson investigation team," Wade said.
While people may be used to seeing K9s work alongside police officers, Wade says that a dog like Baisa plays a completely different role.
"Our K9 for the fire department, they're coming after the fact. They're part of an actual investigator. They're not doing direct apprehension of a suspect. They're actually a part of the investigation team and helping us identify if arson was part of the fire," he said.
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo said that bringing Baisa's skill set has to the city means that the fire department's arson investigation team will be a step ahead of game.
"That is something that is needed in every community. She's our first, and so we very much look forward to the assistance that she's going to give to our fire department, especially our investigations department," she said.
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