Fire Chief Steamed Over Gas Theft

By Joshua Brakhage, The News On 6

UNDATED -- A volunteer fire department is running on empty after crooks turned their fire station into a filling station.

Needless to say, Keystone Fire Chief George Blackburn is steamed.

"We went over and sure enough, they had finished off the unleaded tank," said Fire Chief George Blackburn.

He went to gas up his truck and found thieves had clipped the padlock, and tapped the tanks at the Keystone Fire Department.  Now, vehicles have to fill up nearly 10 miles away at the nearest gas station.

"You take one of these big trucks and travel 10, 20 miles; you're probably making four, five miles to the gallon. So, you've lost two or three gallons of it by the time you get back," said Keystone Fire Chief George Blackburn.

The volunteer Keystone Fire Department runs on donations and fundraisers, and says losing the fuel is a $2,500 hit.  And, that's close to 10% of what the department spends all year.

The theft wiped out everything the firefighters earned from a fundraiser last week.

"It can happen to anyone, not just at your home or at your business, but emergency service that provides that protection for life.  Some people just don't have any respect for that," said Keystone Fire Chief George Blackburn.

And, he says you can't get to the flames when you're running on fumes.

The department is talking about building a reinforced fence or even an entire building around their pumps to keep future thieves out.