State Police Add Accelerant-Detecting Dog K9 River
The Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit has welcomed a yellow Labrador trained to detect ignitable liquids at fire scenes.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Dogs
The Massachusetts State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit has added K9 River, a one-and-a-half-year-old yellow Labrador retriever trained to detect accelerants. K9 River replaces retiring K9 Fulton and will work with her handler, Trooper James Colella.
Why it matters
Accelerant detection helps investigators determine how and where fires began and whether they were set intentionally. The addition gives the state's fire investigation work a trained canine partner as its former detection dog retires.
K9 River completed six weeks of training at the ATF National Canine Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia, to detect gasoline, kerosene and other accelerants. Fire K9s can still detect accelerant scents after firefighters have applied thousands of gallons of water.
The players
Massachusetts State Police
The state police agency whose Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit added K9 River to its fire investigation work.
Trooper James Colella
The Massachusetts State Police trooper who will serve as K9 River's handler and previously worked with K9 Fulton.
The details
K9 River will work alongside Trooper James Colella and takes over from K9 Fulton, Colella's former partner. Her role is to alert investigators to ignitable liquids at fire scenes, helping detectives reconstruct how fires started.
Timeline
Six weeks of training were completed at the ATF National Canine Training Center before the dog joined the unit.
The Massachusetts State Police welcomed K9 River to the Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit in early November 2026.
Legacy Program
K9 River completed training at the ATF National Canine Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia, the federal facility that trains accelerant-detection dogs for fire investigators. Her arrival continues that pipeline into Massachusetts fire investigation work.
The arrival of a trained accelerant-detection dog strengthens the state's ability to determine how and where fires start in Massachusetts. Residents benefit from more precise fire investigations that can establish whether a blaze was set intentionally.
The takeaway
Trained detection animals add a specialized tool to fire investigations, helping investigators move from suspicion to evidence. K9 River's work will show how well the partnership carries forward after K9 Fulton's retirement.
Further reading
Explore more dog news and stories from across the region.
