OK Buddy, Where's the Fire?
Overnighters at a campground in the Three Rivers, Ore., area, called rangers to report that a firetruck was careening around the area, and the driver was yelling obscenities at them.
Kristopher Wood, 34, a volunteer with Three Rivers Fire Protection District, is accused of swiping the fire truck and crashing through a gate on his way to the nearby campground. He was seen driving through the campground in the fire truck at about 6:30 a.m.
Witnesses say they heard what sounded like a fight and possibly a minor car crash involving Wood before park rangers were able to stop him. Wood apparently crashed and rolled his car inside the Three Rivers complex before taking the fire truck on June 20th.
Officers arrested Wood on charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, first-degree criminal mischief, and failure to perform the duties of a driver, and held him at Jefferson County jail. He has been removed from his position as a firefighter.
"Our fire department does have a zero tolerance for alcohol and drugs on its premises," said Fire Chief Don Colfels. "Obviously, Mr. Wood was not authorized to enter the station in an intoxicated state, take a firetruck and drive with clear disregard in a manner very unbecoming to everything our department stands for. It's something our department does not condone."
This Mug Shot Museum staffer wouldn't say she's proud, but certainly delighted to have a story to write from her hometown.
Source: KTVZ News
Free Weird Newsletter |
Most Recent Comments
Posted by Pomaikai in Hawaii on July 11, 2010:
My remote community is protected by a Volunteer Fire Department and our guys are incredible ... dedicated, thorough, utterly self-effacing ... and they do it not for pay, but because they love the forested community we live in.
Every time some jerk like this runs amok, he tarnishes the reputation of a national brotherhood of hard-working, caring individuals. I hope they roast him ... literally.
Posted by Robert in Missouri on July 12, 2010:
Roasting him would be far too mild a punishment; a long sentence of, say, 20 years breaking rocks and being fed subsistence rations might help change his attitude about what he did. FWIW, I was taught as a child that policemen and firemen deserve respect for the jobs they do. When they commit crimes, they take advantage of the trust the public invested in them, and the punishment for cops and firemen gone bad is usually much worse than for the average citizen.
Posted by AllanW, Rancho Cucamonga on July 20, 2010:
This is the first story I've heard in a long time where the application of "Zero Tolerance" wasn't offensive in itself. In fact, the people who invented ZT would probably cite this story as the reason why it was invented.
Of course, they're still wrong. Without a ZT policy, this person would still no doubt be arrested and fired. ZT doesn't add anything useful to the prosecution.
But at least this isn't a case where ZT makes a bad situation worse.
---
Or, as the case often is, a neutral situation terrible! -rc