EXCLUSIVE: A look at JFRD Search and Rescue K9 efforts in building collapse scenarios

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Search and Rescue crews were vital after the condo collapse in South Florida. K9 units found survivors in the rubble and helped in discovering the victims who didn’t make it out.

Those dogs train hard to become the ultimate tool to save lives. Our own Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department (JFRD) helped assist in the search.

Only Action News Jax got an exclusive behind the scenes look into the rigorous training these search and rescue teams go through, right here in the Sandalwood area.

READ: ‘Doesn’t seem real’: Jacksonville Jewish community prays for Surfside condo collapse victims

Action News Jax reporter, Meghan Moriarty, spoke one-on-one with former JFRD Lieutenant, Allen Mallard. He is a member of the Florida Taskforce 5 Team for Urban Search and Rescue.

“It’s just an amazing, amazing thing to work with these dogs,” Mallard said. “Trust the dogs, to trust the noses. if they alert and sign, risk versus gain, and we go.”

Mallard has been a K9 handler for 13 years. His current partner, RJ.

“Jade is the reason we’re here,” Mallard said. “We were getting into the K9 find—live find. We had several handlers trying to figure it out, we couldn’t figure it out. So, we got Jade, already certified.”

READ: Surfside condo collapse: Rescuers use dogs to search for survivors

Jade taught the department and helped shape it to what it is today.

“Jade was an amazing dog. She birthed 12 puppies and out of those 12 puppies every one of them are working dogs,” Mallard said.

Jade helped assist in crucial search and rescue missions, including the collapse of the Berkman Plaza II parking garage, Hurricane Katrina and in Panama City. She helped to find those trapped under debris.

“When you send them out and you find the reward and you bring the person and introduce them back to their family, which they thought they were gone—it’s just unbelievable,” Mallard said.

READ: 7 JFRD personnel who helped with Surfside condo collapse response have contracted COVID-19

Moriarty was able to get an inside look into the JFRD’s K9 training—a program designed with Jade in mind. It’s the same training that prepared four Jacksonville K9s to assist in Surfside, Florida during the condo collapse.

“They lead us,” Mallard said. He walked us through how it all works. “We give them the grids to search, and they search. It started just finding a good toy, because that dog would do anything for a good toy. Once you get ‘em to drive for that good toy than you get him to do what he needs to do.”

The training starts at six weeks old, and at a year-and-a-half, the dog is able to take a Type One and Type Two test.

“You send your dog up and he’s using his nose. When the dog finds something, you watch his body language. He starts whimpering. He’s working it out until he gets to the strongest scent,” Mallard said. “When he barks, he’s found one guaranteed.”

READ: Jacksonville Fire and Rescue crews return from helping the search-and-rescue effort in Surfside

After that, crews have to clear the whole pile and guarantee there is nobody underneath the concrete.

“They are everything,” Mallard said, describing how crucial these dogs are in the search effort process.

These dogs also take their jobs very seriously.

“You don’t find anybody, the dog gets depressed,” Mallard said. “So, you have to send your partner up, hide him in a building or something and find him to keep him [the dog] in the game.”

READ: 80 local firefighters join search and rescue efforts in Surfside following building collapse

It’s not just a working relationship. These dogs go home with their trainer every night.

“The bond that you have with your K9 is un-comprehendible,” Mallard said. “We take them home. We take them to work. He’s with me 24/7, same with Jade.”

Jade passed away at the age of 16, but her legacy lives on inside each K9 in the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department.

“That’s why it’s so hard to lose a partner. It’s not just a dog. It’s a partner,” Mallard said.

PHOTOS: JFRD search and rescue dog Jade on the job in the mid-2000s

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JFRD rescue dog Jade Action News Jax reporter, Meghan Moriarty, spoke one-on-one with former JFRD Lieutenant, Allen Mallard. He is a member of the Florida Taskforce 5 Team for Urban Search and Rescue.

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