Meridian Fire Department welcomed Naty, an explosives-detecting dog, to its team Tuesday. Pictured, from left are Fire Marshal and Naty's handler Vince Vincent, Fire Chief Michael Evans, Mayor Percy Bland and Councilwoman Romande Walker. Photo by Thomas Howard

City officials on Tuesday welcomed a new member to the Meridian Fire Department team as they introduced Naty, an explosives-detecting dog, to the community.

 

A Shepherd breed, Naty is one year, eight months old, and hails from Czechoslovakia, Naty’s handler and Fire Marshall Vince Vincent said. She is trained to detect explosives and firearms, as well as to track missing persons.

 

Fire Chief Michael Evans said the decision to add a K9 to the team was made because of the benefit it will provide for the city. With the ability to locate explosives and weapons, Naty will be helpful in an array of situations, he said, and the ability to track missing persons also expands the city’s ability to respond to emergencies.

 

“Since I’ve been here at the fire department, we’ve had five bomb threats,” he said. “We’ve had PD on numerous occasions looking for guns that someone has thrown out a window or that they’ve tried to hide. We also have missing people. This dog also has the opportunity, she is trained to track missing persons.”

 

There are not a lot of dogs trained to detect explosives in the state, Evans said, and Naty is the only one in East Mississippi outside of the Mississippi Highway Patrol. In responding to previous bomb threats, Meridian had to call in outside help to clear buildings, which often meant resources coming from three or more hours away.

 

“So that’s why we decided we’d go ahead and just get our own dog that we wouldn’t have to wait on anyone and we could use it on a daily basis,” he said.

 

Naty and Vincent will be highly visible in the community, Evans said, at community events, the airport, the train station, in schools if requested, and out assisting other agencies in the East Mississippi region.

 

Mayor Percy Bland said the city takes the security of its residents seriously, and the addition of Naty to the fire department will improve its ability to keep residents safe.

 

“We’re glad with what chief has done here, providing even more security for our citizens, and we just look forward to this service dog being a great asset to our city and our community,” he said.