For the second time in less than 2 years Detroit’s Ladder 22 has had a chainsaw and a large K-14 saw stolen from their fire truck. Firefighters use the chainsaw to breach the roofs of building to allow hot air and superheated gasses to escape during a fire. The larger saw is used to cut open metal doors often found on commercial buildings. To add injury to insult, the equipment was taken from the ladder truck while Ladder 22’s firefighters were fighting a fire.

After the first theft the replacement saws had been chained together with the chain attached to the inside of a truck’s compartment. At the time of the theft Ladder 22’s truck was out of service. They were given a Tac as a temporary replacement rig so the chain securing the saws was not attached to the rig.

Since the city does not have replacement saws the crew of Ladder 22 has already placed an order for a replacement chainsaw. They have paid for it from money they raised by selling t-shirts, money that was originally slated for remodeling the kitchen at Ladder 22’s quarters. At this time they are not sure how or if they will be able to replace the K-14.

The First Theft

The first theft occurred in January 2013. Firefighters of Ladder Company 22 were stopped at a restaurant just a few blocks from their station when thieves took their chainsaw and K-12 from a rig compartment. The crew was able to recover the K-12 saw from a local flea market, but the chainsaw was not found. The chainsaw was later replaced through a donation by the National Firefighters Endowment.

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