LAUDERHILL, FLA. (WSVN) - Surveillance video has been released showing a fire truck on the move after someone attempted to steal it from a fire station in Lauderhill.
“The person, the male subject, became aggressive with the firefighters,” said Lauderhill Fire Department Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Levy.
He climbs into the truck, lights it up and throws it into reverse, before eventually being dragged out.
Police said his name is Freddie Ross.
They said, Tuesday night, at Fire Station 110 in Lauderhill, a crew returning from a call saw something strange and got on their radios.
He kept walking toward the ambulance, and that’s when things escalated.
“The firefighters were trying to calm the situation by talking to him through the window,” said Levy.
He wasn’t giving up.
“At some point, the male subject was able to force his way through the window of the driver’s side of the ambulance onto where the driver was sitting,” said Levy.
The crew scrambled out to avoid a direct confrontation but stayed in contact with police.
Meanwhile, Ross somehow turned on the lights and put it in reverse. That’s when firefighters clearly had enough.
“The crews jumped back into action and were able to stop the truck from getting out of the parking lot,” Levy said.
One could be seen jumping back into the moving vehicle on the driver’s side, then, working with another crew member on the passenger side, forced the man out.
“While maintaining their composure and assuring his safety,” said Levy.
They kept their eyes on Ross until police arrived and took him into custody.
“It could’ve been real bad if he was able to get the truck out of the parking lot and onto the streets. A truck of that size and the unfamiliarity of how to operate that truck will definitely cause danger to the general public,” said Levy.
7News spoke with one of the firefighters who said they were thinking on their feet and it was when they saw the truck was moving that they realized they would have to act.
“As soon as the truck started going backwards, we thought of what could possibly happen if he takes the truck, you know, getting out the gate, that’s a very big truck, not knowing how to maneuver the truck properly,” said Lauderhill firefighter Devitch Nemorin, “a lot of innocent civilians out there and, obviously, causing damage to the property as well as the station.”
Ross was taken to a hospital to get checked out in terms of his mental health.
Lauderhill Police are investigating the incident.
It remains unclear what charges he may face.
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