Ember, a 20-month-old labrador, was put on display at Aylesbury Fire Station this afternoon (Wednesday) to show what she can do by smelling out petrol.

It was also the launch of a new van to transport the animals that will work in scenes where arson may have been the route cause to a blaze.

For the demonstration several pieces of carpet were scattered in the training ground a the fire station, one of which was dowsed in petrol. Ember went straight to it and was rewarded with lots of attention and a tennis ball.

Trainer and owner, Kerry Burns said: "The fire dogs make detection so much quicker. The evidence used from what the dogs sniff out is accepted by the courts of law so it does make a real difference.

"With a dog they are far more accurate because they are looking for ignitable liquids. It's considered critical to get them in after three days, but they are picking up the scent months after it's been there. The dogs do wear boots and a lot of people think that's to protect them from the heat, but that's actually to stop them cutting their paws on broken glass and sharp bits."

The new van that will transport the dogs was sponsored by Tesco after a fire at a Hemel Hempstead branch. Store manager, Nick Molloy, said: "I was at the store the next day to clear up and I saw that the fire dog was involved so we decided to sponsor them. They found out what started the fire in the back area of the shop and it was really impressive. We weren't allowed in the store whilst it was sniffing, but we could see it was very busy going round the store looking for the cause."

The dogs take about six or seven months to train, practising their search techniques, discriminating the different chemicals in fire debris along with obedience and exercising. They live with Kerry who has other dogs, including Barney a border collie who has worked for the fire service for about 18 months.

Also at the event were people from Cancer and Bio-Detection Dogs who are seeking sponsorship for a similar vehicle of their own.