ACME — More than $25,000 in life-saving equipment was stolen from a Whatcom County fire station in Acme over the weekend.
Fire District 16 volunteer chief Hank Maleng said Monday thieves took five chainsaws, two generators, a chalk saw and the Jaws-of-Life — a hydraulic tool used to open crushed doors of cars and buildings.
Maleng said his crew was responding to a car accident Saturday afternoon when volunteer EMT and firefighter Cassie Harkness discovered the back door of the station was ajar. Upon entering the station Harkness saw every cabinet door on the trucks was opened with random equipment lying on the floor.
“They had to take stuff out of the way to get to the generators, the power saws, the stuff that they wanted,” Maleng said. “We could try to secure this dang thing like Fort Knox, but if someone wants to break in, they’re going to break in.”
Station 86 is located on Highway 9 across from the Acme General Store and popular Acme Diner.
Maleng said the more steps they take to secure the equipment and the fire station, the more difficult it would be for firefighters to get out to respond to incidents.
“We need to be able to get out onto the scene, you’re just not supposed to steal from this,” he said.
Maleng said this isn’t the first time a district station has been burglarized. The previous location, in nearby Van Zandt, had a break in two and a half years ago in which equipment was stolen.
“I think this is people that know what they’re looking for and they’ve done this before; I don’t think this is their first rodeo,” he said.
While the insurance covers the cost of replacing lost equipment, the district still is responsible for deductibles. But Maleng worries about delays in getting the new equipment because of supply chain issues.
“I talked to the vendor this morning, and they won’t even give me a date,” he said. “Fortunately [the car accident] wasn’t anything serious but if it was a more serious situation it would’ve slowed our response.”
A collection jar has been placed at the Acme General Store to help offset costs for new equipment.
