The vehicles were targeted while the Tūrangi Fire Brigade was attending a crash on SH41, which took a couple of hours early on Saturday morning.
As volunteer firefighters worked at an early morning crash, someone stole from their cars.
The thefts from two vehicles felt like a “kick in the bum” for Tūrangi brigade members, who had rushed out of bed to attend a single-vehicle crash on SH41 at 4.47am on Saturday.
Senior station officer Kiley Millar said they’re in the process of rebuilding the fire station, so staff are parking their cars across the road at a grass reserve.
But, after a couple of hours helping at the crash site and a cup of tea, there was unwelcome news.
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“Someone put up a message to say their car had been burgled and items had been taken out of two of the vehicles.”
The cars weren’t locked, but Millar said it’s still an invasion of privacy.
“When you get alerted to an emergency your main focus is on getting out of bed, getting to the station safely, then completing the task and helping those in need.
“So the last thing that is on your mind is, did I lock the truck, did I make sure the window was up, did I turn the headlights off?
“Because time is against you because the emergency could be quite serious, and time could be the difference between someone living and dying.”
Some money, a torch and glasses were taken out of the vehicles, and the thefts have been reported to police.
“It’s not a nice feeling because all volunteers offer their time whenever they get called … And all you wish is to be given that moment of time to go do what you need to do to help the people in need, then come back and carry on with your lives. And when this sort of stuff happens it’s not very nice in my eyes because it really gives you a bit of a boot in the bum.”
Millar said this is a warning for people to be more vigilant with their vehicles.
“We’re not going to stop being volunteers, and we’re not going to stop surviving in our community.”
If motorists were travelling past the fire station between 4.47am and 6.30am on Saturday and noticed anyone loitering around, they’re asked to get in touch with the station through Facebook or on 07 386 8580.
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