By FireRescue1 Staff
KEARNS, Utah — Police arrested a woman after she stole an idling fire truck and abandoned it in a parking lot Thursday.
The fire truck was stolen from outside a convenience store by 39-year-old Amber Welker. Officials said the truck was found down the street from where it was stolen, reported KUTV.
Welker abandoned the truck in a parking lot, and walked into a Walgreens to tell an employee a fire truck had been stolen. Authorities apprehended Welker shortly after; she is in custody and cooperating with police.
“It was driven over a couple curbs, I suspect she doesn’t know hot to drive a vehicle of this size,” detective Ken Hansen told KSL. “I’ve seen police cars stolen, I’ve seen ambulances stolen, but this is my first time I’ve ever seen a fire truck taken.”
The Unified Fire Authority said it is standard procedure to keep a fire truck running during the winter in order to keep fire hoses warm enough to function.
The fire truck did not sustain any damage during the incident.