HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION SEARCH TEAM

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Tempo and Chief Bartlett have completed Human Remains Detection (HRD) certification through the American Mantrailing, Police & Work Dog Association (AMPWDA). This specialized training prepares the team to assist agencies with searches involving human remains and provides an additional resource when traditional search methods may not be sufficient.

A Specialized Search Resource

Human Remains Detection K9 teams are trained to locate the odor associated with human decomposition. This capability can be valuable during a variety of incidents, including searches of:

• Open      land and wooded areas
• Rural      and remote locations
• Structures      and buildings
• Areas      where a person may be missing or presumed deceased
• Locations      where other search resources have been unsuccessful
• Search      operations requiring a trained HRD K9 team

Every search presents different environmental challenges. Wind, weather, terrain, structures, water, vegetation and other environmental factors can influence odor movement and the way a search must be conducted.

For that reason, an effective HRD team requires much more than a trained dog.

Certification Is Only Part of the Process

At Milton-Washington Township Fire Department, we believe that continued training and maintaining current certifications are essential to developing a dependable search team.

AMPWDA's certification standards emphasize that certifications apply specifically to the canine and handler combination that completes the evaluation. AMPWDA's current standards list Land HRD certification as valid for one year, reinforcing the importance of maintaining proficiency rather than relying solely on a certification earned in the past. 

Training does not stop after certification.

Chief Bartlett and Tempo continue to work on:

• Odor      recognition and discrimination
• Search      patterns and strategies
• Handler      interpretation of canine behavior
• Building      and land search environments
• Water      & Shoreline search environments
• ICS/NIMS      training to be a part of an expanding incident
• Different      terrain and environmental conditions
• Team      communication and operational discipline
• Scenario-based      training
• Maintaining      reliable and recognizable final responses
• Working      safely alongside other emergency personnel

The goal is to continually develop the entire K9 team—not simply to prepare for a certification test.

A well-developed search team must be able to adapt to real-world conditions, communicate effectively, understand the search environment and make sound decisions based on the K9's behavior.

Why Continued Training Matters

A certification demonstrates that a team has met a defined standard at the time of evaluation. Continued training helps ensure that those skills remain reliable when the team is called upon during an actual emergency.

AMPWDA provides ongoing training opportunities for search-and-rescue personnel and K9 teams, including Human Remains Detection training and certification opportunities. 

Milton-Washington Township Fire Department is committed to that same philosophy of continuous improvement.

Training. Certification. Experience. Continued development.

Together, these elements help create a capable and dependable search team.

Requesting K9 Tempo for a Search

K9 Tempo is available as a specialized search resource when requested through the appropriate emergency communications process.

To request K9 Tempo:

Contact Wayne County Communications through your normal emergency-dispatch process and request a Human Remains Detection K9/search team from MWTFD. Or email mbartlett@miltonfire.in

For an active local emergency or time-critical search, call 911 and provide the dispatcher with as much information as possible about the incident and search location.

Requests should be made through emergency communications so that the appropriate agencies, incident command and available resources can be coordinated properly.

When requesting the team, be prepared to provide information such as:

• Location      of the search
• Type      of incident
• Known      or suspected circumstances
• Last      known location of the missing or deceased person
• Approximate      search area
• Terrain      or structures involved
• Any      known hazards
• Contact      information for the requesting agency or incident commander

The K9 team will operate under the direction and coordination of the incident command structure and the requesting agency.

Serving Our Community and Our Neighbors

The Milton-Washington Township Fire Department believes that emergency response does not stop at the boundaries of our own fire district.

Specialized resources such as K9 Tempo can provide valuable assistance to neighboring fire departments, law-enforcement agencies, emergency-management organizations and search-and-rescue operations when requested.

Our mission is simple:

Train continuously. Maintain our certifications. Develop our skills. Be ready when our community and neighboring communities need us.

K9 Tempo & Chief Matthew Bartlett

Milton-Washington Township Fire Department
Milton, Indiana

For emergency K9 search assistance, contact Wayne County Communications through 911 or the appropriate emergency-dispatch channel and request the Milton-Washington Township Fire Department HRD K9 team.