22-year-old arrested for stealing Seattle fire engine, taking it for joy ride

According to KOMO News, at approximately 3:30 am a crew reported to the Seattle Fire Department dispatch, “We just had someone try to steal our fire engine,” while they were at the Arrowhead Gardens apartments on an aid call.

While the crew was treating a patient, a man rolled up on a scooter, jumped inside the cab of the firetruck, then drove off with the siren and lights on.

The suspect didn’t get far. He didn’t realize that the emergency brake was still on and stopped a block away. The suspect exited the fire engine and ran away but was found by police nearby and arrested. According to KOMO, the suspect is a prolific offender with 12 convictions dating back to when he was a teenager for stealing cars, firearms, and other items.

He is now facing two new charges from the incident and Engine 26 is back in service in the South Park Neighborhood of Seattle.

One person who lives at Arrowhead Gardens told the outlet, “An SUV made a U-turn, and a lady jumped out and stole the car while I was standing right there.” She added, “I’ve had my Pathfinder stolen twice from here. Then I had a Kia stolen, and then, they took my catalytic converter off my Mitsubishi.”

Seattle firefighters are regularly the targets of assault, vandalism, and theft. The incident is just the latest targeting of the SFD by criminals. Last summer, thieves stole thousands of dollars’ worth of equipment from a Seattle fire truck.

In July 2023, while SFD was battling a warehouse fire, someone attempted to steal equipment from a rig but firefighters were able to interrupt the thief and prevent anything from being taken.

In June of that year, there were also two separate incidents of people attempting to steal fire engines while crews were responding to calls. The department has reported an uptick in fires that were intentionally set in areas where some of the thefts and assaults occurred.

Following the incidents, despite a massive staffing shortage, two crew members are now required to stay with the unit while on non-emergency work. It is unclear if the policy was being observed when the fire truck was stolen this week.