A small town fire hall responsible for covering a large rural area and busy Alberta highway has been robbed of some vital life-saving equipment.
At some point on Sunday evening, RCMP said the Lac Ste. Anne County fire hall in Sangudo was broken into, about 100 km northwest of Edmonton.
“Lac Ste. Anne County Fire Services was shocked to discover the theft of essential tools for emergency service delivery and maintenance tools from Station 4,” said Fire Chief Randy Schroeder.
The theft was discovered when firefighters arrived at the hall just after midnight to respond to a collision, and found several things missing — including the jaws of life used to free people from crumpled vehicles.
“This discovery occurred upon our members response to the station for a motor vehicle collision in the early hours of Feb. 17.”
The fire hall is one of one of seven in Lac Ste. Anne County and near Highway 43 — a busy route between Edmonton and northwestern Alberta communities like Grande Prairie.
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Thieves make off with jaws of life from volunteer fire department in central Alberta
RCMP said on Tuesday afternoon the fire hall is still tallying items that were stolen, but some of the other items missing include:
Hydraulic pump hosesForestry power sawsVentilation power sawsGeneratorVarious tools meant for forcible entry into vehicles and housesMedical trauma kitChainsawsMechanical hand toolsAll of the hand tools from the workbenchesLaptopsDrone
Despite the extensive theft, Lac Ste. Anne County reassured residents there would be no impact on services.
“Our crews remain fully operational and ready to respond to emergencies as usual. Response support from neighbouring stations happens simultaneously and replacement equipment has been deployed as necessary to support the station,” the county posted to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon.
“Temporary measures to outfit the station with tools from other stations, along with response adjustments will assure service delivery is not interrupted,” Schroeder said.
RCMP said the theft would have occurred sometime between 5:30 p.m. Sunday, and 12:30 a.m. Monday when crews arrived to respond to the crash.
Mounties are asking for the public’s help by checking their surveillance cameras for anything suspicious.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Mayerthorpe RCMP at 780-786-2800 or your local police.
If you wish to remain anonymous, you can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8377 (TIPS) or submit a tip online.
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