SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com.
For the second time in a week, someone stole a vehicle from a Snohomish County fire department and crashed it.
This time, a thief hit the South Snohomish County Fire District, stealing a Ford F-150 as personnel were investigating a residential fire.
Police found the truck in Shoreline Friday, shortly after it was stolen, with minor damage to the front bumper and scratched paint on metal framing around the front headlight.
Four firefighters were working to determine the cause of a residential fire that broke out on 76th Ave. W., about a quarter mile north of Lake Ballinger Way.
The F-150’s engine was running and its emergency lights were flashing.
A fire department spokesperson says it’s standard department practice, for safety reasons, to keep the engine running when emergency lights are flashing.
As investigators were completing their tasks, an unknown man hopped behind the wheel of the truck and drove off.
There were also several contractors at the site.
One company was there to assist with boarding up the damaged building.
Another was working to tow away a vehicle damaged by the fire.
To make room for the tow truck, a firefighter had moved the F-150 and parked it along 76th Ave. W., blocking one lane of traffic.
About three minutes after it was parked on the street, while a contractor was no more than 25 feet away, someone got in the driver’s seat if the brightly-painted red truck, and drove off.
A contractor says he saw the vehicle hit another South County Fire F-150 as the driver fled.
Several police agencies responded after the suspect drove off.
Police searched and found the vehicle minutes later, just after 12 p.m., on Firlands Way N. in Shoreline.
Damage to the Ford was minor and they say it appears the suspect didn’t tamper with any of the fire department equipment inside.
However, the vehicle’s fuel card is missing.
No one was hurt in the incident.
But the suspect is still on the loose.
Anyone with information on who the suspect is should contact Edmonds Police.
South County Fire Chief Bob Eastman released a statement regarding the department’s vehicle theft:
“Like fire departments across Snohomish County and our region, we are very disturbed by recent events targeting emergency services vehicles that belong to and are funded by our community. South County Fire has been exploring solutions to make our fleet more secure, including potential changes to vehicle engineering, policies and training.
We are thankful that no one was hurt and the damage was minimal in this case. We will take appropriate actions to protect these vital services for our community.”
Damage to the vehicle will not affect the fire department’s ability to respond to emergencies.
But it will require that the vehicle be removed from service until it can be checked out.
Fire officials say a similar, back-up vehicle is ready to be put into action, if necessary.
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