This fire investigator is not allowed in WA firehouse
Firefighter Patrick Nicholson of East Jefferson Fire Rescue (EJFR) in Port Townsend, Washington just finished a five-week training program at the Maine Criminal Justice Academy with his partner Allie, a 2-year-old yellow Labrador retriever. According to Nicholas Johnson at PTLeader.com, the pair are soon expected to be Washington’s only certified arson detection team. But despite that distinction, Allie is not allowed inside any the department’s three firehouses. .
From Brinnon Fire Department website
That’s the new policy expected to be adopted by EJFR’s board of directors next week because of concerns about allergies and cleanliness. Nicholson was hoping to change that by offering to vacuum two or three times a day, but it doesn’t look like that argument will win the day.
Nicholson is also the chief of the Brinnon Fire Department, which I gather does not have that restriction for Allie. According to the news coverage, EJFR is interested in using the services of Allie but does not appear to see the dog as the priority Nicholson and his own department do.
Nicholas Johnson, PTLeader.com:
“We’ve never addressed animals in the firehouse,” EJFR Chief Gordon Pomeroy said. “When this came up, a number of employees complained of allergies to pets such as cats or dogs. If we bring animals into the firehouse and have people with allergies, we are creating an unsafe or hostile work environment, so it’s easier to just say no pets allowed in the firehouse.
“And it sheds like hell. It brushed against my black pants, and I was picking it out for the rest of the day.”
When Nicholson came back to work May 13 upon returning from Maine, Pomeroy told him he would not be allowed to keep Allie in a kennel at any of EJFR’s three fire stations, although Nicholson figured that was temporary and that the board was working toward a policy that would allow a certified arson dog.
