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Tools worth thousands of dollars stolen from 4 volunteer fire departments

Thieves broke into an off-road trailer in Debec last week and stole thousands of dollars worth of rescue equipment shared between four volunteer fire departments.

The two thieves dressed in black stole $4,000 worth of hand tools involved in off-road rescues, such as accidents involving snowmobiles, boats and four-wheelers.

"Our service hasn't been compromised any it's just going to take us a little bit longer," said Greg Williams, fire chief of the Debec Fire Department.

Williams said his fire department can respond to one or two off-road rescues each year.

Break-in 'disappointing'

The break-in happened shortly before 4 a.m. on Wednesday. The trailer sits next to the fire hall in Debec, a community about 15 kilometres southwest of Woodstock.

Security footage belonging to the Debec Fire Department shows a four-door Sedan stopping in front of the trailer. Then a passenger gets out. And the car takes off.

Williams said the thief broke into the trailer by using a hand tool to pry the door open.

A few minutes later the car returns and the passenger throws a number of items into the backseat of the car.

Then the passenger returns to the trailer and grabs more items.

The individual gets back into the vehicle again, and the car takes off.

"It was kind of disappointing to say the least," Williams said.

The tools were shared between volunteer fire departments in North Lake, Meductic, Canterbury and Debec. Money for those items would've been raised by the local fire departments.

Williams said the fire department will be able to pay for new equipment because they have theft insurance. He said the tools will be replaced within a year.

A quick money-maker

Williams assumes thieves stole the equipment to make some quick cash or pay down debt.

"They'll truck it up to Quebec City or somewhere up there and then sell it," he said. "Get them [stolen items] out of the province."

He believes thieves also take stolen snowmobiles and four-wheelers up to Quebec to sell.

Williams said break-ins have become a problem in the area in recent months.

"There's been quite a few thefts around Woodstock, Debec, Hartland area."

Two men from Lower Knoxford, a community about 45 kilometres north of Woodstock, were arrested the day after the Debec fire department break-in.

The two men, ages 26 and 29, were charged in connection with an investigation into a rash of thefts that started in December of last year. The thefts happened in Woodstock, Centreville, Lower Knoxford and Florenceville-Bristol.

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In a news release, police said members of the Woodstock and Perth-Andover RCMP detachments, along with the West District RCMP's Crime Reduction Unit, executed a search warrant.

During the search, a quantity of stolen property was recovered. The items include two side-by-sides, two all-terrain vehicles, firearms, chainsaws and various tools.