By Steve Thompson
The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS — Dallas Fire-Rescue workers treated a patient Sunday evening, then returned to their ambulance to find something missing: a $1,200 handheld radio.
Crime of opportunity? Maybe.
But another radio was stolen Sunday back at the rescue workers’ fire station in northeast Dallas. And at least two more were taken from a station in Oak Lawn.
“You have people that are feeding habits, drug habits, alcohol habits — people steal for a variety of reasons,” said Fire-Rescue spokeswoman Sherrie Lopez. But aside from the monetary loss — more than $10,000 — she acknowledged another worry.
“We’re just concerned about the actual usage of the radios,” she said.
Unlike police and fire scanners, which residents can use to listen in on calls, these radios are equipped to make calls. Fire-Rescue personnel use them to talk to one another and to their dispatchers.
“There is the possibility of interference in anything we have going on,” Ms. Lopez said. “Anybody with a little bit of knowledge can potentially hurt us in a situation that we really need to be on the right path with everything.”
The 8:15 p.m. medical call was from a person at an apartment complex in the 6200 block of Melody Lane. Officials did not say what was wrong with the patient, who was taken to Presbyterian Hospital.
Rescue workers returned to the ambulance to find the driver’s side door ajar. In addition to the radio, a cellphone was missing.
Ambulance crews leave their doors unlocked and engine running when treating patients, Ms. Lopez said.
“It can be devastating if we had a critical patient, and we came back to our ambulance, and we couldn’t start it,” she said. “So we keep it running all the time.”
The same sort of readiness made for an easy target at Station 37, nearby on Greenville Avenue. A firefighter parked an engine and left it unlocked inside the open garage. About 10 p.m., the firefighter returned to find another radio missing.
Firefighters often leave their gear beside the trucks. Boots stand ready to jump into, and suspenders cling to pants, quick to slip on. Jackets hang on hooks with gloves and a radio already inside pockets.
At Station 11 on Cedar Springs Road on Sunday evening, someone took the whole set, suspenders and all. At least two radios were taken, valued at $2,600 each.
Dallas police say they have no witnesses and are unsure whether the crimes are related.
“It is awfully coincidental that it’s all happened at the same time, so there’s a possibility that it is” related, said police Lt. Ben Nabors, an investigative supervisor at the northeast patrol division. “But at this point it’s hard to say.”
Fire-Rescue officials say they will look into taking precautions to prevent such thefts.
“What’s a shame about that is the fire stations, for years and years and years, have been a welcoming place,” Ms. Lopez said. “It’s been a place where people felt free to come in and just sit down and talk to us.
“It’s a shame that now we’re going to have to really tighten down and re-evaluate all our security procedures, and probably these doors will be closed,” she said. “If you need us now, we’re still here, you just need to come in the front door and ring the bell.”
Anyone with information is asked to call Dallas police at 214-670-4416.