The Los Angeles Fire Department Friday night announced the death of retired Arson Detection Canine Major.
Major was assigned to the department's Arson Counter Terrorism Section from December 2008 until retirement in April 2016. He lived with his handler, retired Arson Accelerant Detection Investigator Frankie Oglesby, the LAFD's Nicholas Prange said.
During his time with the department Major responded to approximately 1,840 fire scenes, Prange said.
"While based in Los Angeles, Major responded to significant fires throughout the United States and abroad as a member of both the (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) National Response Team and the Los Angeles House of Worship Task Force," Prange said.
Major was credited with helping authorities arrest "hundreds of arsonists who otherwise might have escaped justice," Prange said.
Major was also an ambassador to children, helping educate them about fire safety, Prange said.
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"Even in retirement Major was never far from his LAFD family," Prange said. "Dogs always seem to gravitate to the person that needs them the most. For Major, it was the city of Los Angeles that needed him the most."
Major died Dec. 27 at the age of 12.
