10/04/2026
One of Java’s buddies we like to call “The General” Happy Fire Pup Day General!
🔥NATIONAL FIRE PUP DAY🐾
Meet K9, Lee ~
K9 Lee is an Accelerant Detection Canine (ADC), a dog trained to detect trace amounts of ignitable liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, and other fire accelerants at fire scenes. His nose allows investigators to pinpoint whether a fire was intentionally set, often finding evidence invisible to the human eye and guiding investigators to the exact samples worth sending to a lab.
Lee's story starts behind bars, not on a fire scene. Born in March 2020, he was raised as a puppy through Puppies Behind Bars, a program that places young dogs with incarcerated individuals in New York prisons to be socialized and given their foundational training. The Bureau of Alcohol, To***co, Fi****ms and Explosives (ATF) later purchased him and brought him to its K9 Headquarters in Front Royal, Virginia, where he began the specialized training that would shape his career. In December 2021, Lee graduated alongside his handler and was deployed to North Dakota, becoming the state's first ever ATF Accelerant Detection Canine.
In North Dakota, Lee wears two badges. He carries his ATF certification, and he was also sworn in as K9 Special Agent 493 with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation (NDBCI). As a member of the ATF National Response Team, he is on call to respond to major fire and explosive incidents anywhere in the country, and internationally if requested.
Lee is one of only 70 ATF K9s working nationwide, and he holds a distinction none of the others share: he works fires farther north than any canine in the US ATF program, and he is the only ATF K9 covering the entire upper northwest, a region spanning North Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
In 2022, Lee became a founding member of the North Dakota Fire and Arson Strike Team (ND FAST), a joint task force of the NDBCI, ATF, and the State Fire Marshal's Office created to investigate major and criminal fires across the state. Lee is called out roughly three to five times a month, about 50 fires a year, ranging from the multimillion dollar high loss fires to smaller insurance fraud arsons. He responds to every fatal fire in North Dakota and has assisted in multiple homicide investigations tied to those fires.
Because he holds both federal and state law enforcement authority, Lee is also able to work fire investigations on tribal lands, something no other ATF K9 in the national program has done. He has now worked fires on five different reservations throughout the Midwest.
Lee is based centrally in Bismarck and is available to assist any international, federal, state, local, or tribal agency needing help determining whether an accelerant was used in a fire or other criminal activity. He is also available for public demonstrations at schools and community events.
To request K9 Lee's assistance or schedule a demonstration, contact:
Special Agent Luke Kapella
IAAI-CFI, NAFI-CFEI, IAAI-CI
North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation / ATF
(701) 220-7026
[email protected]
