PAFD welcomes ‘ruff’ new member

The Port Arthur News

October 10, 2007 07:58 pm

— By Amy Moore
The News staff writer
Things at Fire Station No. 1 just got a little hairier, well, furrier actually.
The Port Arthur Fire Department recently welcomed the newest member of their team, Nick, a German Shepherd which is a certified Canine Explosive Material and Ordinance dog.
At just over a year old, Nick flew 18 hours from his home in Holland to Global K9 Training Academy near San Antonio where he spent the past several weeks training to become a certified sniffer.
“A German Shepherd can smell about 500,000 different odors, compared with the mere 4,000 that humans can distinguish,” Mark Sastre, Nick’s PAFD handler said.
Now certified to detect over a dozen different explosive materials, Nick and Sastre are on the job and ready to show off their skills.
“He was already proficient when I got there and basically I was there for four weeks for them to train me, not him,” the handler said with a laugh.
While Nick might be new to Port Arthur, Sastre has been a fire fighter in the city for the past five years. The job of canine handler is a new title for him, though.
In June, Ivar, a Belgium Malinois and Port Arthur Fire Marshal Explosives K9 for the past seven years, died from a mass in his abdomen. He was 8-years-old. Capt. Perry Manuel of Station No. 5 was Ivar’s handler and chose not to take the position again.
Sastre and Nick have found their place in the fire department at Station No. 1, though down time for both will be at home.
“I have two little girls and they just love him. They call him Nicky and draw pictures of him and our other dog,” Sastre said.
While in training, Sastre was able to meet a renowned dog psychologist who stressed the importance of separating work from play with dogs like Nick. So when the badge collar comes off, both handler and dog can spend time playing ball, something Nick enjoys.
Nick is certified to detect ammonia dynamite, blasting fuse, C-4, PETN, data sheet, nitro dynamite, RDX, HMX detonation cord, smokeless powder, TNT, water gel, and symtex. Next week Nick will also learn to detect black powder.
At work Nick will go through recurrent training every month to stay up to date on the latest training.
Donations from Motiva, Chevron-Phillips, Valero, Huntsman and BASF made it possible for the department to purchase Nick.

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