A Young Firefighter Got His Truck Stolen While Battling BC Wildfires This Weekend
Someone in B.C. took advantage of a wildfire to make off with a stolen vehicle. A 24-year-old B.C. firefighter named Connor Callaghan was fighting wildfires on Friday, August 21, when his truck got stolen from a parking lot. A number of his belongings were in the truck.
The young firefighter posted on Instagram, describing the truck as a "Navy Blue 2003 Toyota Tundra."
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Callaghan told Narcity that he spent three nights fighting the wildfires in Penticton, B.C. On Friday, he returned to his base in Merritt.
His truck had been parked in the same lot where many other wildfire service employees leave their vehicles while on deployment, he told us.
Cameras installed on the lot show that the truck was taken at around 2:45 a.m. on Friday morning, he said. He arrived just a few hours later to see that his truck had disappeared from its spot.
Callaghan told Narcity that he filed a police report with the RCMP in Merritt. Narcity has reached out to RCMP for comment and we will update this article when we have a response.
Callaghan said that he was able to get a ride from a coworker to Kelowna after filing the police report.
"All of my belongings were in the vehicle," he said.
He told us that he lives in the truck during the summers while battling wildfires.
The back of the truck is covered by a canopy, and the vehicle has a grey tailgate. There's also a bike rack on the back. The license plate is JY 3181.
Callaghan is a student at UBCO when he's not fighting fires during the summer. He's in the mechanical engineering program and is set to begin his final year this fall.
Among the belongings in the truck include his laptop, his iPad, and his school bag which he needs for the coming year.
"My iPad was in my school bag which was in the vehicle, and I turned it to lost mode. It got a ping in Mission BC but nothing since."
He told us that he received a call from the police in Mission and they've been very helpful in the process and are reportedly going to be patrolling for the truck in the area.
"I would just like to say thank you for all the support, it’s really nice to see the community come together," said Callaghan.