FIRE NEWS NETWORK
Orange County Fire Authority Truck 85 was stolen by a homeless man while idling outside the University of California Irvine Medical Center in Orange, California as the crew followed up on a patient transported there.
The man led the California Highway Patrol and local police on a mostly low speed pursuit for nearly an hour. First on freeways, including the 405, then on city streets through the cities of Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, and Anaheim.
When the driver of the stolen truck stopped in the middle of Brookhurst Street in Anaheim, another homeless man from the area ran in front of the truck and tried to stop the thief. The driver backed the fire truck up but was blocked in by police.
The second homeless man stood at the front bumper of the truck and tried to talk to the driver. They had a brief discussion where they talked to each other about being homeless and the cold.
After about 10 minutes the man that stole the fire truck exited it and laid on the ground. He then crawled across the street and was taken into custody by police.
Truck 85 is stationed in Garden Grove which contracts with the Orange County Fire Authority for fire services. The truck appeared to have minor damage on the right side as the driver briefly side swiped the shoulder wall on the 405 freeway.
