Oswego County adds Cedar, a fire investigation K-9 to arson probes

Three hours after graduation, Cedar was already back at work, a three-year-old English yellow lab moving into Oswego County fire scenes with a job built for his nose, stamina and obsession with the task at hand. The county’s new accelerant-detection K-9 was brought in to help investigators separate accidental fires from those set on purpose, and he did it by searching for the faint petroleum-based residue that can linger in debris long after a blaze is out.

Cedar earned his certification in ignitable liquid detection through a 10-week intensive course at the New York State Academy of Fire Science in Montour Falls, where the training centered on finding traces of gasoline, kerosene and other accelerants. The county also sent him through agility training and environmental exposure work so he could stay steady in crowds, restricted spaces and the kind of chaotic, emotionally charged scenes that often follow a fire. For a dog like Cedar, that kind of work is the outlet: physical motion, constant problem-solving and a clear target for all that drive.

His handler, Fire Investigator Shawn Simoneau, trained alongside him and also serves as a captain with the City of Fulton Fire Department. Oswego County Fire Coordinator Shane Laws praised the partnership and thanked the city for giving Simoneau time off to complete the training, a small sign of how much coordination goes into building a K-9 team that can function as an investigative tool from day one.

The deployment was immediate. Cedar was sent out for the first time just three hours after graduation, and the county said he has already assisted in three other fire investigations since then. He will also support surrounding counties when needed. That is a quick transition for any working dog, but especially for one being asked to read a scene, sort through clutter and keep his focus while investigators look for the cause and, if necessary, the perpetrator.

Oswego County said its fire coordinator’s office has had a K-9 on the team since the mid-1990s, making Cedar the fifth dog to join the department. The county also said it is currently the only fire investigation team in Central New York with a certified K-9. The office works closely with the Sheriff’s Criminal Investigation Division, county fire departments and insurance agencies, and county officials have called K-9 fire investigation teams a critical public safety asset. Cedar now carries that legacy forward, with a Labrador’s energy pointed squarely at the hardest part of the job: finding what the fire tried to hide.