CRANE, Mo -- Firefighters are responsible for fighting fires and responding to critical medical calls, but what happens when firefighters suddenly don't have the tools to respond to those emergencies?
Station No. 2 for Aurora Rural Fire Association is located near Crane in Barry County. The building has locks, but that's not how the thieves got it.
They actually cut a whole through the wall - and grabbed more than a dozen tools essential to keeping the community safe: radios, sirens, medical equipment, leaf blowers and chainsaws.
"The leaf blowers help out with forest fires especially when we're in the timber," Chief Adam Crouch said. "It helps us create what's called a fire line. The chainsaws are handy in the bad weather because we can cut down a branch instead of it falling on a firefighter."
About half the materials were recovered, but most of it was damaged. The Missouri State Highway Patrol found the items while executing a separate search warrant.
The search warrant led investigators to the home of Dennis Schmidt, 42. He's charged with burglary and stealing.
The fire chief says the district would like to install an alarm system at its stations, but it doesn't have the money.
