The tools belonging to the Kronlund Co. of Big Sur, valued at about $10,000 were taken from a 30-foot storage container at 38800 Palo Colorado Canyon Road at the top of Murray Grade, roughly 2.5 miles up the canyon from Highway 1, said contractor Charles McClaskey, owner of Canyon Builders in Big Sur.
Kronlund Co. is doing the cement foundation work for the station, McClaskey said, and the thieves also broke into a neighboring 30-foot container holding firefighting equipment.
"What kind of lowlife would steal firefighting equipment?" he said.
McClaskey said two laser transit levels, a generator and a truck box full of carpentry and trimming power tools were taken from the contractor's bin.
"They peeled the top of the truck box off like a sardine can," he said.
Padlocks on the storage containers, McClaskey said, were apparently broken with a sledgehammer.
Assistant Fire Chief Jake Goetz said he hasn't taken an inventory of what, if anything, was taken from the volunteer firefighters' container, which holds spare equipment, hoses, uniforms and other items.
McClaskey, Butch Kronlund and others "are trying to give us a break on things" by providing work free or at cost on building the fire station, said volunteer firefighter Richard Gorton.
"We're trying to provide something for the community, and someone sets us back again."
The small Mid-Coast Fire Brigade has been raising funds over the past 20 years to build the station that would house three of its five fire engines and provide a place for training, equipment storage and housing of firefighters.
Currently the fire trucks are parked outside and exposed to the weather.
"I have one of the fire engines at my house," Gorton said.
The volunteers have saved $300,000 toward the station, McClaskey said, but the eventual cost, even with donated time and materials, will run about $700,000.
The volunteers are pursuing grants and plan a fund-raising barbecue this summer, McClaskey said, and will accept any donations to help the project along.
The brigade gets $23,000 a year in state Proposition 172 funds, Fire Chief Cheryl Goetz said, "our operating budget for the entire year."
About $15,000 of that goes for insurance and workers' compensation coverage, she said, leaving another $8,000 or so for fuel, maintenance, equipment purchases and other operating costs.
The volunteers hoped to get a shell of a building up before winter, and the finished two-story, 3,270-square-foot building will include three truck bays, a training room, offices and an apartment for the six volunteer firefighters.
Work is going ahead, McClaskey said, and he hopes to have the foundation poured Monday.
In addition to housing equipment and providing a training site, a fire station will also serve as a central gathering place in case of disaster for residents to get information and assistance, Cheryl Goetz said.
Tax-deductible donations may be sent to: Mid-Coast Fire Brigade, Palo Colorado Canyon, 93923, with checks made out to Mid-Coast Fire Brigade.
