VIDEO: They are fire investigators on four legs who help the FDNY solve some of the most difficult arson cases around the city.
Weighing in at just under 70 pounds each, Bucca and Pete pack a type of crimefighting muscle different than any other firefighter. They’re part of the K9 arson squad.
They sniff, they sit, they solve.
“He can detect basically a pin drop,” said Joe DiGiacomo of the FDNY Fire Marshals Unit.
Inside the FDNY’s facility on Randall’s Island are Bucca and Pete, the four-legged MVPs of the Fire Marshals Unit, are training for duty.
“He’s looking for accelerants, anything somebody can use to set a fire is what he can detect on,” DiGiacomo said. “He’ll sit to indicate he found something.”
The dogs are trained to detect 30 different types of accelerants. All they need is a whiff of residue to show fire may not have been accidental.