Allentown Fire Department’s K-9 Judge, 7, is a finalist in the 2016 American Hero Dog contest.

Judge has already been designated as Hero Dog in the arson category.

He is now vying with seven other dogs for top honors from the American Humane Association.

Voting is open through Aug. 24 at herodogawards.org/vote to determine the winner.

The 2016 American Hero Dog grand prize winner will be announced Sept. 10 at an awards gala in Los Angeles.

Judge, a yellow Labrador retriever, joined the department in 2011.

Fire Chief Lee Laubach is Judge’s handler.

State Farm’s Arson Dog Scholarship program donated Judge to the city.

He is the first State Farm Arson Dog in city history and was the first in either Pennsylvania or New Jersey in several years.

Judge assists the department in fire investigations and in prevention education.

He has worked more than 275 fire scenes.

Judge has uncovered evidence leading to multiple criminal arrests and civil penalties for insurance fraud cases.

As an educator, Judge has appeared at more than 500 fire safety programs and demonstrations for Crime Watch groups, specialty dog shows, elementary and high school programs, and more.

Laubach has also developed a pilot program using Judge to get the life safety message to autistic children.

Judge has also been an effective deterrent as the number of arson fires has dropped more than 50 percent since he has been in service with the city.

The Hero Dog Awards are presented by The Lois Pope Life Foundation Inc.

The American Humane Association is donating $2,500 to each of the eight finalist’s charity partners, with $5,000 going to the charity partner of the American Hero Dog.

Judge’s charity partner is Paws With a Cause.