SEATTLE — A suspect is in custody after stealing a Seattle Fire Department (SFD) engine for a brief period of time on Wednesday morning.
A witness called 911 at around 3:30 a.m. to report that a man rode a scooter up to an SFD fire truck, climbed inside and then drove away with the lights and sirens activated.
The fire department said an engine crew was responding to a medical emergency on the 9200 block of 2nd Avenue Southwest when the truck was stolen. The crew was attending to a patient when the suspect got into the parked fire engine and left, according to a fire department spokesperson.
After getting the truck to start, the suspect, identified as a 22-year-old man, failed to completely deactivate a parking brake and was only able to drive around the corner, according to Seattle police. The suspect exited the vehicle and was arrested a short time later.
The man was booked into King County Jail for theft of a motor vehicle and SFD was able to recover their truck.
SFD said the patient got the care they needed.