Precious metal thieves target Fla. sprinkler, standpipe systems

By Macollvie Jean-Francois
Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — They've targeted public parks, fast-food restaurant bathrooms and cemeteries. Now, thieves of brass, copper and other precious metals are going after equipment that firefighters use to extinguish blazes, fire-rescue officials said Monday.

Heavy items used in the sprinkler and standpipe systems outside buildings are the new targets, they said. The devices have various uses, ranging from providing a quick hook-up for fire hoses, to pumping water into sprinkler systems.

Having parts stolen or damaged delays firefighters' responses and may require additional resources to extinguish or prevent a fire."That's a life-safety issue," said Battalion Chief Mark Steele, spokesman for Hollywood fire-rescue. "It affects us big time. Without those connections, we wouldn't have the capability to fight the fires."

Steele said some of the equipment has turned up at metal-recycling businesses in Hollywood. Other agencies have found out through annual inspections, or when water suddenly gushed from a missing connection, fire-rescue officials said. Some agencies said they were not certain if all the equipment was going to scrap yards or were being sold and used elsewhere.

The thefts have been going on around South Florida for months, sporadically. There have been at least eight in Coral Springs and Fort Lauderdale is investigating one such theft, authorities said.

In Lauderhill, the brass back flow-prevention devices outside some condominium complexes began disappearing last year, fire-rescue spokesman Lt. Jeff Levy said. The thefts meant the Fire Department had to shut off water to buildings until the parts could be replaced. Water meters on top of devices for commercial fire sprinklers have also been a target, he said.

Assistant Chief Stephen McInerny, Fort Lauderdale's fire-rescue spokesman, said when his agency received word of the thefts last month, it released a memo telling its engine and ladder companies to survey all Fire Department connections and other equipment used in responding to fires.

The thefts were discovered during annual inspections of the systems, meaning the equipment may have been stolen or disabled for some time, according to the memo.

"The overriding thing is not the cost," McInerny said. "If we pulled up and these were missing, or damaged, it would certainly compromise our ability to fight a fire."

A global shortage of copper, aluminum, nickel and other materials has driven up the price worldwide, industry officials have said. That, in turn, has fueled thefts, with some people taking metal items from unlikely places to cash in at scrap yards.