Stop, Drop and Roll

The year was 2006, and for the firemen of Fire Station 29, Los Angeles Fire Department, and in particular Ryan Penrod, their lives would dramatically change for the best part of 17 years. They could never have imagined what the future held, as Station 29 will forever be synonymous with a dog that an entire nation recognised. Ryan would eventually become Captain and the dog’s handler, as this remarkable canine lived with Ryan and his family.

The story started when a young girl arrived at the fire station and implored them to take a spotted dog to save him from going to a shelter. Many fire stations have a dog; many will be Dalmatians. Some are permanent residents, and their main function is to relieve stress. Firemen not only do a dangerous job, but they are faced daily with horrors that most of us thankfully will never see, and having a pet available to stroke and embrace is a proven way to de-stress. Wiltshire happily settled into life at Fire Station 29, joining the men in fitness exercises, particularly the treadmill, but it became obvious that Wiltshire wasn’t destined to just be any fire station dog. His enthusiasm, his charisma and his willingness to learn made him a perfect candidate for what was to come. First of all, however, he had to learn that jumping onto the dinner table and stealing food that was left there when the firemen answered an emergency call was unacceptable!!

Wiltshire, or Wil as he was known to the firemen, was a natural performer, which made life a fraction easier for the man who is credited with his training. Whilst he featured on a National Geographic Channel Dog Whisperer show with Cesar Millan, the man who trained Wiltshire to Stop, Drop and Roll, plus doing the “get low crawl”, is hardly known to the general public

Enter the professional

Clint Rowe is a name few people will associate with training animals, but in his world he is a legend with innovative methods based on love, food and scent-based bonding. With credits including Turner and Hooch, White Fang and Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Clint is famous for ethical, stress-free training. This man is so dedicated that he was once dismissed by a director for refusing to do a stunt that he considered detrimental to a dog’s well-being.

So the idea was to teach children good fire protocols in a way that they would remember, with an emphasis on Stop, Drop, and Roll if their clothes catch fire. With the additional, Call 9-1-1 and Get Low and Go, the idea being that smoke and poisonous fumes rise; staying low will prevent their inhalation. Children were also taught to crawl toward their rescuer, not run away

Along with amazing props designed and built by Ryan, his wife Nicole and children Carter and Kayden, Wiltshire became famous and much in demand.

What grabbed everyone’s attention was the speed that Wiltshire could attain with the Stop, Drop and Roll.

A star is rolled

Wiltshire became a superstar; he appeared at the Super Bowl, did stage shows, television appearances, charity events, schools- in fact, the list is endless, but through it all he never failed in his primary objective to educate children and adults in how to react to fire. It says something about human nature that we can show all the unpleasant videos, have firemen dressed in their full kit talk about it, and even see it recreated in movies, but none of this has the same effect as the sight of a Dalmatian rolling over!!

Despite Wiltshire wanting to go out on the fire truck, on veterinary advice it was decided that, to avoid damage to his hearing, he should stay at the fire station, particularly as Dalmatians are susceptible to hearing loss.

Wiltshire spawned any number of videos and cartoon  characters that were aimed at the very young, and fire departments from around the world contacted the Los Angeles Fire Department for advice and assistance in reaching out to their own citizens

It is impossible to calculate a negative, but without doubt there are both children and adults all over the world who are alive and uninjured today thanks to lessons learned from this truly unique spotted dog.

Wiltshire passed away in 2021, but his legacy remains undimmed.