Thieves stole thousands of dollars worth of equipment from the Parwan fire station, leaving the brigade unable to attend the recent bushfires in Victoria’s south-west.
The 30-member brigade was unable to go to the aid of firefighters on the front line after being targeted by thieves on March 17.
Hoses, breathing apparatus and cylinders, a chainsaw with helmet and chaps, a ride-on mower, torches and portable radios were among the items stolen.
Captain Graeme Miles said a police patrol discovered a station door had been “jemmied”.
“We lost a fair bit of equipment,” he said. “I know it will be replaced, but it will take a
while.
“I received a call early that morning from the regional office saying that the police had been past and the door was up … when I got up there, carnage had been done and everything has been tipped out. Most of our equipment had been taken.”
He said that the breathing apparatus alone was worth about $5000.
The break-in left volunteers upset and unable to carry out their duties, he said.
“We were supposed to get down to Cobden, but with all the mucking around with police we couldn’t go,” he said. “We had another call-out but we’ve got no breathing apparatus … so if we’ve got a house fire in the area, we’ll have to call another brigade to come and help us.”
Captain Miles said it was the third break-in at the station in the past two years.
Most of the equipment was covered by insurance.
“It happens a fair bit,” he said. “We had CCTV, but it hasn’t been working for a week after a recent power outage.
“The radios and breathing apparatus aren’t much use to anyone outside of our line of work, so I don’t know why anyone would want to steal or sell them.”
