Texas Fire Truck Stolen from Station

May 21, 2004
"I have no idea who took it," says one firefighter.

"I have no idea who took it," says one firefighter.

It's something that has echoed in the minds of those from the Poynor Volunteer Fire Department for more than a month now.

"I came into the station the truck was gone, the bunker gear was gone. It just didn't look right. So I called the local dispatcher to find out if somebody had called him," says Department Medical Trainer, Linda Perry.

But the 1977 Fire Truck wasn't out on duty, it had been stolen. Volunteers say the intruders broke in by removing bolts from metal panels on the back of the garage. The truck had been a part of the deptartment for more than two decades and has saved hundreds of lives and put out thousands of fires.

While there's no question about the value of the truck, they say they're at a complete loss for where it is or who could have taken it.

"We've run the back roads, the DPS helicopter has flown over, and the Sherriff's Department's out looking. Everybody in the community's looking for it, but it's gone," says Perry.

Firefighters say along with the truck, they lost more than fifteen thousand dollars worth of equiptment that could cost people their lives. "For grass fires and stuff like that, we have to wait for somebody from another department to get here and it could be ten to fifteen minutes before another deptartment arrives which could mean the loss of somebody's property."

Volunteers say not only have they and their community been robbed of a truck, they're missing their peace of mind as well. "They've taken from our department, they've taken from the community and they've endangered many lives by doing so."

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