PITTSBURGH — Chief Investigator Rick Earle has learned that Pittsburgh Police are looking for a man they say took a tour of a Pittsburgh Fire Station in Carrick and then returned to steal a fire radio.
Images from a surveillance camera show the man standing outside the station holding the radio that he’s accused of taking.
It happened at Engine 23 on Brownsville Road in Carrick on Monday after firefighters showed him around the station.
Earle spoke with the Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Dan Gilman, about the theft.
“An individual was given a tour of a fire station and at some point during that tour or right after the tour, he entered the facility and stole a radio,” said Gilman.
The theft of the city fire department radio comes four months after police believe someone using a radio was able to broadcast racist and hateful messages over a Pittsburgh Police radio frequency.
No one was ever arrested in that case.
The concern now is that whoever took the fire radio could possibly interfere with emergency communications.
“Of course, the radio is always a concern for safety, but also just anyone entering our facilities, you know, those are homes to our firefighters. They have personal belongings; this is where they live 24 hours a day when they are on shift, and we need to make sure we have strong security and protect their belongings, their equipment and the taxpayers’ equipment that’s in there, some of which is millions of dollars in costs,” said Gilman.
Pittsburgh Police are now using several different images of the man captured outside the fire station, hoping someone will recognize him and notify investigators.
“Detectives are working on some leads, and we will share with the public if it’s advantageous to make sure we recover our equipment and hold the person accountable,” said Gilman.
Sources tell 11 Investigates that some of the fire radios cost anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000.
Police do not believe that anything else was taken.
If you recognize the man in the surveillance pictures, police want to hear from you.
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