![\"Bernadine,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/REG-L-NewFireDog1476.jpg\")
Bernadine, or Burnie, is a 15-month-old Labrador retriever that will assist the Reading Fire Department in arson investigations and fire scene examinations. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\nThe Reading Fire Department has a new four-legged investigator on the job.<\/p>\n
Bernadine \u2014 better known as Burnie \u2014 is a 15-month-old black Labrador retriever trained to sniff out accelerants at fire scenes.<\/p>\n
She takes over for Gracie, the department\u2019s first arson dog following her retirement earlier this year after several years of service.<\/p>\n
Burnie comes to Reading through a long-standing partnership with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Like many ATF canines, she got her start in the Puppies Behind Bars program, which places puppies with incarcerated trainers in New York and pairs them with weekend foster families to help socialize them.<\/p>\n
Burnie was one of six dogs sponsored through a fundraiser held by a New York couple, and she was named in honor of the wife. The couple later attended her graduation ceremony.<\/p>\n
Lt. Trent Zullick, an investigator with the city fire marshal\u2019s office who had served as Gracie\u2019s handler, spent six weeks training alongside Burnie at the ATF facility in Virginia. Burnie\u2019s full training lasted 12 weeks and included everything from classroom lessons to hands-on work at real fire scenes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe actually had to travel all the way to Washington, D.C., for one fire scene,\u201d Zullick said during a City Hall press conference Thursday to introduce his new partner. \u201cFire scenes don\u2019t come when you need them, only when you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Burnie earned her certification on Oct. 31 and will undergo annual recertification. Zullick expects the next one to take place in Philadelphia in August.<\/p>\n
Bernadine, or Burnie, is a 15-month-old Labrador retriever that will assist the Reading Fire Department in arson investigations and fire scene examinations. (BILL UHRICH\/READING EAGLE)<\/p>\n
While Gracie was known for her calm demeanor, Burnie\u2019s personality is different.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s much more energetic,\u201d Zullick said with a smile. \u201cBut she knows her orders and she works.\u201d<\/p>\n
That energy translates into sharp investigative work. Burnie is trained to detect six categories of accelerants, helping investigators quickly hone in on small pockets of interest within a debris-filled scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith her nose, it allows us to cut down from what we may have to dig through this whole room to a little 4-by-4 area,\u201d Zullick said. \u201cIt\u2019s a tremendous time saver, and it helps us get the positive samples we need for court.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fire Chief James Stoudt praised Zullick for his dedication. The canine program, he noted, has become an important resource not just for Reading but for agencies across the region.<\/p>\n
Zullick and Gracie were once deployed to assist in Newark, N.J., after a ship fire that killed two firefighters, he said.<\/p>\n
Stoudt said he hopes the program continues for years to come.<\/p>\n
As for Gracie, she\u2019s enjoying retirement.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s laying at home on the couch probably doing absolutely nothing,\u201d Zullick said. \u201cAnd enjoying every minute of it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Reading Fire Department has a new four-legged investigator on the job. Bernadine \u2014 better known as Burnie…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":60398,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[349,857,182,139,28,736,128,130,129,706],"class_list":{"0":"post-60397","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-reading","8":"tag-berks-county","9":"tag-essential-reading","10":"tag-local-news","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-pennsylvania","13":"tag-reading","14":"tag-reading-city","15":"tag-reading-city-headlines","16":"tag-reading-city-news","17":"tag-top-stories-reg"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60397","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60397"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60397\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60398"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60397"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60397"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60397"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}