One arrested for fire station theft

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The firefighters at the Freeman station spent Monday responding to calls and preparing for any possible emergencies in the wake of Hurricane Isaac which was expected to make landfall late Tuesday.

However, it wasn't the storm that struck during the early morning hours Tuesday — it was a thief. Police said Brent Dyson, 34, stole brass fittings from a fire truck hose, as well as some firefighters' personal items.

"When you're here, and you're expecting to be safe, and provide security and safety to other folks, and somebody comes up here and does this to you… I mean, it hurts," Chad Sprinkle said.

Five firefighters’ personal vehicles were broken into early Tuesday, and the brass fittings from a fire truck that parked outside were also stolen.

"As far as the metal, they had planned to on scrapping the metal for pennies on the dollar pretty much," Sprinkle said.

The firefighters called area scrap metal businesses to ask them to be on the lookout for the stolen items.

Police say Dyson took the stolen parts to Gordon's Scrapyard on Schillinger Road Thursday. An alert office manager recognized the stolen items. 

"We stalled him. We had to come up with several excuses to hold them here so we could get the police in order to have them arrested, and when they got here they found drugs and everything else in their car," Loretta Jones said.

Dyson was arrested on the spot. He was out on bond for another theft, but that bond has been revoked and he is being held without bail.

"The stuff was identified as some of the things that were stolen along with the nozzle off the fire truck," Sprinkle said.

Most of the stolen items were returned, but Sprinkle said some of it was badly damaged. It will cost firefighters hundreds of dollars to repair or replace the damaged items. 

If Dyson had been able to sell the metal, the scrap yard owners said he would have gotten only $7.20.

"I couldn't believe it," Jones said. "To steal from somebody that's out there to help you.  If your house caught on fire and they didn't have their equipment what would you do," she said.