Teenager allegedly stole fire engine

LAPORTE, Ind. – A sheriff’s deputy, who saw two fire trucks leave a station when there wasn’t any fire, caught a teenager who allegedly stole one of the trucks.\nPolice said they weren’t sure why the 17-year-old LaPorte boy, who was wearing full firefighter gear when he was arrested, stole the truck. He was being held at the LaPorte County Juvenile Services Center on Monday on juvenile charges of burglary and vehicle theft.\nA rescue truck was also stolen, but police have not apprehended a suspect in the crime.\n“It’s silly and crazy,” LaPorte County Sheriff Mike Mollenhauer said. “Something is wrong with them, that’s for sure.”\nLaPorte County sheriff’s deputy Steve Pearce was on patrol about 1:30 a.m. Monday when he saw a pumper truck and rescue truck leave the Center Township fire station with lights flashing and sirens blaring.\nPearce checked with dispatchers and found out there was no fire. He spotted the pumper truck at Pine Lake Cemetery in LaPorte and followed it until it veered off a road. He said the driver ran, but stopped after a few hundred feet.\nThe rescue truck was also abandoned at the cemetery, police said.\nPolice said the two suspects broke into the fire station through a window. Center Township Trustee Greg Smith, a retired firefighter, said fire trucks are not started like other motor vehicles, leading investigators to explore if the suspects are related to or know any firefighters.\nBoth trucks were back in service and suffered little, if any, damage, Smith said.\n“I don’t have any first-hand knowledge of anyone ever taking a fire truck,” he said.