A joyride in a fire engine may seem like a dream for many, but when you can’t handle the massive vehicle, the results can be quite disastrous. A man in his late sixties and a teenager were arrested after they stole a fire truck early in the morning and drove through a quiet neighborhood, leaving a trail of destruction.
An old man in his sixties and a teenager stole a fire engine from a fire station in Northern Ireland and went on a joyride around a quiet neighborhood sometime before dawn, reported the Malay Mail Online . While the joyride in the massively large bright red fire truck didn’t last long, the duo seemingly went on a road rampage and ended up destroying a lot of vehicles and damaged buildings, before crashing into the side of an apartment complex. It is a miracle that there was no casualty that resulted out of the joyride.
Authorities in Northern Ireland confirmed police have detained two individuals, aged 66 and 19, for stealing a fire engine and going on a joyride, which caused a lot of damage to a quiet residential area. While it is presently unclear what prompted the two men to allegedly steal the vehicle from a fire station near Belfast, the trail of destruction it left was considerable, reported CNN .
The duo broke into the Larne station and made off with the engine about 4:30 a.m. The fire engine blasted through the fire station, causing substantial damage to the structure. With siren blaring and lights flashing, the fire engine drove into multiple houses and flipped parked cars, stated Group Commander Kevin O’Neill from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS).
“Subsequently, this fire engine was driven into a number of cars and houses in the Larne area.”
While the pensioner and the teenager did not get far in the fire engine, they damaged at least seven cars and quite a few properties before crashing into the side of two homes. The duo appeared quite determined to damage the cars, because one of the cars the duo hit had been flipped onto its roof, indicating it was hit with substantial force with a vehicle at high velocity. Speaking about the incident, Thomas Job, owner of the one of the damaged cars, said the following.
“I was fast asleep in bed around 4.30am and then there was this horrendous bang and flashing lights – we just didn’t know what was happening. We thought it was possibly an explosion, we rushed downstairs and immediately saw the carnage of a line of cars, think it was probably eight cars, one sitting on its roof, my own car was side swiped as well. We are completely in shock, the neighbors on both sides of the road, we are just wondering how in the name of goodness can something like this happen.”
The damaged fire station has been temporarily closed to repair the “considerable damage” that was caused due to the break-in. O’Neill added that the fire station has made alternate arrangements to ensure services remained active. The fire company stated it will be “reviewing their security arrangements.” Firefighters shared that the theft will undoubtedly have huge implications for the community, reported the Express .
Theft and crash of fire engine in Larne condemned by fire service. https://t.co/uqZjgOlHl8 pic.twitter.com/k5kE9Cd8Xk
— Today FM News (@TodayFMNews) March 5, 2016
It is not clear how an aged individual and a teenager were able to simple waltz into a fire station and steal a fire engine. Preliminary investigations reveal the station wasn’t manned at the time of the break-in. The fire engine used for the joyride has been “seriously” damaged and is expected to remain out of service for quite some.
It is a miracle that apart from a single person receiving minor injuries, there were no other casualties from the irresponsible joyride, reported the Comment . Fire fighters noted that had the joyride taken place later in the day, the list of injured would have been a lot longer.
[Image via Video Screen Grab]
