Adam Gatti, a fire marshal with the Erie Bureau of Fire, and his accelerant-sniffing dog, Horus, are set to retire from the bureau Oct. 16. The pair have worked together since the city obtained the dog through the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in late 2022.
Tim Hahn/Erie Times-News
USA TODAY Network, Reuters
Don Sauer has been known to disappoint people when he walks through Erie City Hall.
The chief fire marshal for the Erie Bureau of Fire said there have been times during his city hall visits when office doors open when his presence is known. Heads stick out, and a familiar question is asked, he said.
Where’s Horus?
Not with Sauer, who isn’t Horus’s handler.
“We always joked that when we went to city hall, the greeter hit a page on the phone and every time the elevator dinged, the doors would open up and people would be there looking to see if Horus was here,” Sauer said.
The friendly, 5-year-old Labrador retriever who has been a part of the city fire bureau for four years is well-loved in city hall and throughout the Erie community. He’s made many friends at local schools, community events and fire prevention programs, his handler, city Fire Marshal Adam Gatti, said.
“He’s just a boost of energy for people,” Sauer said.
But ambassador is only a small part of Horus’s service to the community. Trained to detect accelerants, Horus has been vital in helping Erie fire marshals, Erie police and investigators throughout the region on numerous suspicious fires. And his work has led to a number of successful outcomes, said Sauer and others who have worked with the dog.
Horus’s service is coming to an end Oct. 16. He will accompany Gatti in retirement, as Gatti moves on from his 27-year career with the City of Erie – five as a city police officer, 22 as a city firefighter – to become a K-9 trainer with the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“Having Horus is a fantastic tool for our area, not only the city but for western Pennsylvania as a whole. The fact that we were able to have the dog for so long, it’s fantastic,” said Erie police Detective Andrew Miller, an arson investigator and major crimes detective with the Erie Bureau of Police.
A new face on the bureau
It was the ATF that brought Horus to town.
Gatti, a certified search and rescue dog handler, initially pitched the idea of the Erie Bureau of Fire obtaining a dog to the bureau’s chief fire inspector at the time. He researched programs that provide accelerant-sniffing dogs before deciding to apply for one through an ATF program, he said in November 2022.
The ATF provided Horus at no charge and covered the cost of sending Gatti and his new partner through training.
Keeping Horus on the job has come at a low cost to the city, thanks to the generosity of the ATF and some community partners who have covered such things as veterinary bills and food, Gatti and Sauer said.
On the job
Horus’s role at fire scenes is to detect whether an accelerant was used to start a fire. He is trained to detect different petroleum distillates, including gasoline, diesel fuel and lighter fluid, Gatti said in 2022.
“He makes investigations easier, especially incendiary fires where we’re looking for flammable liquids,” Sauer said, adding that he believes the number of incendiary fires has dropped in Erie since Horus started work.
Horus’s job is to tell investigators what evidence to collect, Gatti said. Without a dog, fire marshals typically have about a 20 to 25% positive return rate from evidence sent to the crime lab. As of September, Horus had a 92% return rate, he said.
In the past, the fire bureau had some meters to help determine the presence of accelerants if they suspected a fire was an arson, Erie Fire Chief Leonard Trott said. But when Horus joined the bureau, it took it to a whole new level, he said.
“He definitely brought capabilities to the fire department to help us figure those things out,” Trott said.
Sauer and Miller said Horus’s work has led to a high arrest and conviction rate for those determined to have intentionally set fires in the city.
Trott said Horus is a regional asset, and his partnership with Gatti has taken them throughout northwestern Pennsylvania and beyond to assist in a number of fire investigations.
Trooper Brad Barnhill, a fire marshal with Pennsylvania State Police Troop E in Summit Township, said they have worked together on countless cases in the city and in Barnhill’s jurisdiction, and have been an invaluable asset to the state police and the region.
“They’re going to be a huge loss,” Barnhill said, noting that there are other K-9s in the region but at greater distances from Erie.
Will Horus be replaced?
Because of Gatti’s past experience with the ATF, the federal agency would put the Erie Bureau of Fire toward the top of the list if it sought another accelerant-sniffing dog through their program, according to Gatti and Sauer. There is normally a three-year waiting list for a new dog, Gatti said.
Trott said the bureau is considering obtaining another dog.
Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Horus, Erie’s accelerant-sniffing ambassador, to retire with handler
Reporting by Tim Hahn, Erie Times-News / Erie Times-News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
Horus, a 5-year-old Labrador retriever trained to sniff out accelerants, has aided the Erie Bureau of Fire in a number of fire investigators and has served as an ambassador of sorts for the City of Erie and its fire bureau since he came to the city in late 2022. Horus is retiring Oct. 16 along with his partner, Fire Marshal Adam Gatti. Tim Hahn/Erie Times-News USA TODAY Network, Reuters
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This story was originally published October 12, 2026 at 5:10 AM.