Meet Blaze, the newest recruit to the Hialeah Fire Department.
The 4-month-old golden retriever is training to be a live victim watch dog, and will eventually become part of FEMA’s Task Force team to search for victims in accidents and disasters.
"The dog is going to be an essential tool to have because we have catastrophic events such as what happened in Puerto Rico," said Hialeah Fire Department spokesperson Barbara Gonzalez-Tamborella.
Once certified, Blaze will be deployable to both natural and manmade disasters with FEMA.
The adorable puppy will also double as a stress reliever for the station’s firefighters during critical incidents and will be present during debriefings.
"The simple touch and petting of a dog has been proven to help alleviate stress," said Gonzalez-Tamborella.
Golden retrievers are very smart, have great senses of smell and their temperament makes them ideal breeds for the position.
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Officials say that adding more dogs to the fire department’s team is something that they would like to explore, but is unknown as of now.
