ST. LOUIS — A canine with St. Louis Fire Department K-9 Search & Rescue Unit died Friday night while performing a search of the condemned Railway Exchange Building downtown.
The St. Louis Fire Department announced Saturday morning that its cadaver dog Balko died while assisting St. Louis police with an investigation. The death was accidental, St. Louis Fire Capt. Garon Mosby said.
A police department spokesman said they were searching for a body that was reported to be in the building. The spokesman said a body was not found during the search.
The 6-year-old Hanoverian Hound from Germany had been an in-service member of the fire department for 3 1/2 years. He was the department's only cadaver dog, Mosby said.
During his tenure, Balko performed nine successful searches, including at the Amazon warehouse collapse in Edwardsville and the fatal fire at Bob Kramer's Marionettes.
"Rest easy Balko, we'll take it from here," St. Louis Fire said in a statement posted to its social media pages.
"Please keep a prayerful thought for Balko’s family, Firefighter Michael Sevener (Handler), his family, and the members of Engine House #1," the department said.
The 109-year-old Railway Exchange Building, located on 615 Olive St., once attracted thousands of shoppers every day.
The city of St. Louis condemned and boarded up the historic building in January in a bid to encourage its out-of-state owner to maintain the property, the St. Louis Business Journal reported. Since the city was granted emergency condemnation on Jan. 4, police officers have performed several sweeps to remove people from the building.
