See and hear in the clip how Malin intends to spread the knowledge around the world

It all started when she helped put out a forest fire four years ago and when a friend, who was there with her dog, asked if they couldn't teach the dogs to do that job instead.

- Then it clicked in my head and I grabbed it immediately, says Malin Kyllesjö, dog training teacher.



Then and there, the idea was born to train forest fire dogs to find hidden hot spots under the ground, which risk flaring up and creating new forest fires after the emergency services have left the scene.

Things that humans have a hard time detecting, but which dogs can do faster with the help of their good sense of smell.

From around the world

It has now been just over four years since that day in the forest, and Malin Kyllesjö from Aneby started the training for forest fire dogs shortly after that.

She started with her own dog Ripa.

There are now ten certified forest fire dogs in Sweden.

- As far as I know, there is nowhere else in the world.

I get requests from Canada, USA, Australia, Denmark and now most recently from Argentina.

Something that P4 Jönköping was the first to report



. According to her, it is the pandemic that has so far put a stop to starting to hold training courses internationally.



The goal is for there to be a trained crew in every county.

To find out if a dog is suitable as a forest fire dog, a suitability test is carried out.

According to her, they must be hard-working and persistent dogs.

There are risks

The dog handlers are also trained, among other things in how to behave in the event of a forest fire and what risks it can pose even after the fire is out.

The training itself takes about a year but differs slightly depending on the basic knowledge the dog has and also on how old it is.

- Obedience is extremely important because we often work during periods when you are not allowed to have dogs loose.

We have a dispensation for that and then we guarantee that the dogs will not pursue game.

Vorstehn Ripa is Sweden's first certified forest fire dog.

Photo: private