Toronto Firefighters Reprimanded For Allowing Pumper Theft

May 9, 2006
Four firefighters were shopping inside a Home Depot when their unattended fire truck was stolen in late March.

Firehouse.com Update:

The Toronto Star reported on May 26 that all four firefighters whose pumper was stolen while shopping at Home Depot have been placed on probation and suspended without pay for periods ranging from two to four weeks.

The Toronto Fire Department recently revealed that truck repairs cost the city $40,798.63 (Canadian).

CTV report: 5/9/2006

Toronto, Canada-- Four firefighters were shopping inside a Home Depot when their unattended fire truck was stolen, a confidential report obtained by CTV Toronto has confirmed.

Police were in hot pursuit of the pumper truck, which was taken for a 45-minute joyride after being stolen from a plaza parking lot on March 20.

Fire chief Bill Stewart's confidential report states that the fact that the crew left the pumper unattended is unacceptable and contrary to the procedures outlined in the Toronto Fire Services' standard operating guidelines.

"While the action of the crew leaving pumper 141 unattended is an anomaly, a fire chief's advisory was issued to all personnel to reinforce and strengthen the current policy stating there will be no personal shopping for any reason," the report said.

Police chased the truck for a while, but abandoned the pursuit because of concerns that someone would get hurt.

A 20-year-old has been charged with theft and dangerous driving.

The truck was eventually found in a ditch on Highway 27 North of Kleinburg.

The truck, which has a replacement value of $200,000 - $260,000, sustained significantly more damage than originally thought. Originally, the repairs were thought to cost the city approximately $5,000. While the final figure has yet to be determined, it has increased five fold to $25,000 since the original estimate.

City Councillor David Shiner finds the secrecy of the incident unacceptable.

"Can't find out what the damage is, can't find out what it's going to cost to fix it, can't find out how long it will take and our insurance adjustors haven't given the approval for repairs," Shiner told CTV Toronto.

"And most of all I don't understand if action has been taken against employees, and if they had done something wrong, why that information isn't being made public."

While the four crew members have been disciplined, the fire service refuses to release the details because they say it is a personnel matter.

Shiner has submitted a formal request for the fire service to make the information on the reprimand and the truck itself public.

With a report from CTV's Alicia Kay-Markson

2006 Bell Globemedia Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Republished with permission of CTV.

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