The Times-Tribune
EAST BERNSTADT, Ky. — There’s still no sign of a utility trailer stolen this past Saturday morning from the East Bernstadt Fire Department.
The trailer was used by the volunteer department to tow lifesaving equipment to fires, accident scenes and other emergencies when seconds count.
When firefighters needed it, the trailer was gone.
Deputy Chief Frank Votolato noted the experience has been one of frustration ever since.
“There’s been nothing new on this. We got the video surveillance on the truck that stole the trailer, and we have a good description of the truck. I’d say that person who took the trailer got it around 1 a.m., but I’m assuming that by 1 p.m. the next day, it was cut up. The likelihood of us getting that trailer back’s probably slim to none,” he said during a phone interview Tuesday afternoon.
The theft came at a time when East Bernstadt firefighters were already at a non-emergency event. But the tone of urgency rang when the crew was called out to an accident in the woods.
That’s when they discovered something missing.
“We were working Friday night at the Wildcat Harley-Davidson birthday celebration, and we got paged out to an ATV accident. We were going to take our Ranger that we have and put it out on our utility trailer, and discovered it was gone. We were able to get the people out of the woods with equipment from the London-Laurel County Rescue Squad. When we got back to the station after the call, we started going back to the footage, and that’s when we discovered around 1 a.m. that the pickup came around the yard, and stole the trailer,” said Votolato.
The utility trailer was parked at the fire station when surveillance photos from the scene of the theft showed a suspect vehicle leaving with the trailer. According to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, that occurred between 12:48-1 a.m. early Saturday.
Votolato mentioned, “We leave the trailer locked to a van that we pull it with. It had a padlock and we backed it up against a cargo trailer, so it would be hard for people to steal the utility trailer. But they cut the padlock off and wheeled that trailer to the truck and took off.”
The stolen trailer is described as a 6-by-16 foot red utility trailer that’s missing the front rails, has a fold-down gate, with the East Bernstadt Fire Department logo sticker attached to it.
The words “East Bernstadt Fire Department” are also painted on the trailer’s floor.
The Sheriff’s Office described the vehicle that took the trailer as possibly a 1999 to mid 2000s model year, white Chevy 3500 extended cab, flatbed model truck. Or the vehicle could possibly be a white Ford F350 extended cab, flatbed model truck.
The investigation into the trailer theft is continuing.
Should you have information regarding the suspect vehicle, or the persons involved in the theft, you’re asked to call the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office at (606) 864-660 or (606) 878-7000. The information will be strictly confidential.
At this point, Votolato pointed out they’re looking at other options, but like many other volunteer fire departments in the Tri-County, they’re hampered by operating on a shoestring, which could take a bite out their budget.
Still, he added it’s not the cost, but the principle, of someone stealing the trailer.
“We’re going to have to work on getting another trailer, because if we get another call, we can’t move our equipment around. That’s all we know we can do. It’s not the monetary value, it’s a $1,500 trailer. It’s because someone was in need, because we couldn’t do our job. A person steals something from a volunteer fire department. It’s pretty aggravating. It boggles my mind.”
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