People Are Trying To Steal Generators In Ottawa & 45,000 Are Still Without Power
Police say they received a call about a "suspicious vehicle".
Generator attached to a trailer.
A City of Ottawa councillor says people are trying to steal generators in his ward as about 45,000 hydro users still have no power.
On the morning of Wednesday, May 25, Keith Egli said he received information about people who were "looking to snatch generators" in his ward of Knoxdale-Merivale in Ottawa.
On Twitter, Egli alerted residents to the thefts, and said they were unacceptable and that the Ottawa Police Service has been notified about the incidents.
"If someone is running a generator now it’s because they need to keep food safe and water flowing," the Ottawa councillor said.
\u201cI was made aware of people going through storm impacted areas in Ward 9 looking to snatch generators. This is unacceptable behaviour and the @OttawaPolice have been notified . If someone is running a generator now it\u2019s because they need to keep food safe and water flowing .\u201d— Keith Egli (@Keith Egli) 1653474264
When asked about the thefts, the Ottawa Police Service told Narcity via email that they received a call at around 8:50 p.m. on May 24.
"We received a call for a suspicious vehicle in the area of Amberwood and Merivale Road presumably casing the area on the lookout for generators," an Ottawa Police Service representative said.
"Frontline Officers attended the area but were not able to locate the vehicle."
But after further investigation, police later said that no generators were reported as stolen since May 21 when Ontario's derecho storm hit Ottawa.
Police and Ottawa Fire Prevention are reminding people not to operate generators indoors or in garages, but instead to place them outside and away from windows, doors and intakes.
Earlier in the week, on Sunday, May 22, Ottawa By-law Services said that it received many noise complaints about generators throughout the city.
"Please be advised that usual noise by-law restrictions are waived for generators supporting properties in areas without power. This means they are allowed to run 24/7," the service tweeted.
Some people responded to the news saying that they were using generators to store essential health and food supplies.