Two County Durham dogs who can sniff out traces of arson have been praised by their Fire and Rescue Service.

Fire dogs Woodie and Twix, who are English Springer Spaniels, work for County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service, offering a crucial role in identifying the use of flammable liquids in cases of suspected arson.

Based in Bishop Auckland Fire Station, Woodie and Twix are professionally managed by Colin Davis, the Service’s Fire Investigation Search Dog Handler and Divisional Manager.

The skilled canines undergo training every day to detect even the smallest amounts of flammable liquids, providing assistance to Fire Investigation Officers and enabling them to work out if a fire was caused on purpose.

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"The beauty of fire dogs is that they can very quickly and effectively search a large area for indications of any ignitable liquids present," Mr Davis said.

"Their noses are a million times better than anything else we have and can detect low level odours beyond the human detection range.

"Once the dog is committed into the fire scene, it will indicate at source on any odour given off by an ignitable liquid present.

"Once that happens, we use a piece of equipment that will tell us what it is, and how many quantities, that sort of thing."

Beyond firefighting and investigation support, Woodie and Twix, who joined the force in 2017 and 2022 respectively, also engage with the local community, participating in safety messages delivered by service crews.

"The dogs are not just a great advantage operationally, but we use them to help promote community safety messages to our young people and members of the public through schools, fetes, and open days," Mr Davis said.

"They are great company - the crews love them! I think they have been a real asset to the Service."