Volunteer firefighter Steven Turnbull is angry at thieves
who targeted his car (bottom left) parked outside the
Mosgiel fire station while he was busy fighting a caravan
fire nearby.
While Mosgiel volunteer firefighter Steven Turnbull was
doing something good, someone else was doing something bad.
Mr Turnbull, a senior firefighter, was among members of the
Mosgiel volunteer fire brigade to respond to a fire in a
caravan parked beside a house on Mure St, in Mosgiel, about
12.30am yesterday.
The fire gutted the caravan and caused minor damage to the
side of the house, and was being treated as suspicious by
police and fire safety investigators yesterday.
However, police were also called to the Mosgiel fire station
after Mr Turnbull returned from fighting the caravan fire to
discover his car had been entered while he was at the fire.
Among the items stolen from inside the vehicle were Mr
Turnbull's GPS navigation unit, sunglasses and migraine
medication, as well as coins, a gym identification card,
several tools and even a spare pair of socks.
And it appeared whoever entered the car had lingered, staying
long enough to spill beer and spirits on the floor and leave
an empty bottle under one of the seats, Mr Turnbull said.
"It just kind of makes you feel really sick," he told the
Otago Daily Times yesterday.
"That's a nail in the coffin kind of thing."
Mr Turnbull faces an uncertain wait for news from his
insurance company, after conceding the car had been left
unlocked as he rushed from his car to the Mosgiel fire
station.
"I was pretty sure I locked it - I pushed the button but
obviously it hasn't locked, which is a real pain," he said.
Mr Turnbull's father, Mosgiel brigade station officer Russell
Turnbull, said his son was "gutted" by the theft, which
occurred as the brigade's volunteers managed a "good save" in
protecting the house.
Three fire appliances and about 17 firefighters from Mosgiel
and Lookout Point stations were called to fight the fire, and
arrived to find the caravan engulfed by flames, he said.
The burning caravan was within 2m of the home, with heat from
the flames cracking nearby windows and damaging the spouting,
he said.
"Probably the first 200 litres of water went on to the house
to cool it down . . . what was going to happen next was the
big concern.
"To be quite honest I can't believe how lucky they are," he
said.
The owner was not home at the time of the fire, and the
caravan was an old shell used for storage and as a play area
for children, he said.
A Fire Safety inspector was investigating the fire, which was
being treated as suspicious.
It was not yet known if an accelerant had been used, but "it
didn't start by itself", Mr Turnbull said.
Senior Sergeant Mel Aitken, of Dunedin police, said the
caravan fire was "definitely suspicious" and an investigation
was under way.
She was shocked to hear a firefighter's vehicle had been
targeted by thieves while he was away doing a good deed.
"That's just filthy."
Police had fingerprinted beer bottles found in the car as
part of their investigation into the theft.
chris.morris@odt.co.nz
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