The Morgantown Fire Department has a furry new addition.
Since the 1980s, arson canines have been on the case, sniffing out hard-to-find accelerants that would otherwise go unnoticed. Now Morgantown has welcomed its own arson detection canine, who is equally hardworking and lovable.
Chance, the furry new addition to the Morgantown Fire Department (MFD), started in December as West Virginia’s second-ever arson canine—following Charleston’s Pancake, who started just a week earlier. Both dogs are responsible for more than their hometowns, as fire marshals can call on the canines any time to work statewide. Chance works in the northern half of the state, while Pancake covers the south.
The life of an arson dog is different from the life of a police department dog. “She’s not a narcotics dog or a bite dog or anything like that, so she can be loved on all the time,” says Chance’s handler, Fire Marshal Billy Lyons. “She’s been to a couple public education events for MonKids, and they all loved her.”
Lyons, who has worked with the MFD for over a decade, began training with Chance in Front Royal, Virginia, in the fall of 2025. Training made the two partners, and now they spend their days both living and training together. “She’s with me every day, 24/7,” he says.
Chance trains twice a day, every day of the week. During each training session, Lyons hides a liquid scent somewhere, and Chance looks for it. When she finds the odor, she sits to communicate her discovery. But a day on the job for Chance isn’t just training. Calls can come at any minute, and she is always ready to detect signs of arson.
Chance’s first call was a success story. The structure had burned down completely, but that didn’t stop her from finding evidence—she searched the scene and located a spot with accelerant residue. From there, evidence was collected and sent to a state lab for testing.
Despite the seriousness of her work, Lyons says Chance is a sweetheart. “She loves fetch, and she will play fetch until your arm gets tired.” Off the clock, Chance lives with Lyons and his other dogs, where she quickly settled into the pack.
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