SOUTH PADRE ISLAND – A K-9 arson dog is joining the South Padre Island Fire Department.

Liberty, the new accelerant detection K-9 will make his debut at a press conference on Wednesday.

These K-9’s are trained to sniff out traces of elements which may have started a fire.

Liberty is a Labrador Retriever who recently completed a five-week program with his handler, Arson Investigator Ashely Bowen.

The program is funded by State Farm and is available to fire departments and law enforcement agencies across the U.S.

It began in 1993 and has placed more than 400 dogs in 45 states – eight of those dogs are currently working in Texas.