Houston firefighters continue to be targeted by burglars who are breaking into their personal cars

HOUSTON - Houston firefighters are being targeted while out on the job. After responding to a call, they’re coming back to find their personal vehicles broken into. 

The latest break in happened last week, hours after we aired our original story. 

What we know:

"Right after the story aired, we got a call the next morning that fire station 58 was targeted by burglars, and they came in while our firefighters were on a call, and they broke into the vehicle of the firefighters," said Patrick M. "Marty" Lancton, President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association. "You shouldn't rob anybody, but come on, these are people that are going out there to save people’s lives and the safety of firefighters is the most important thing." 

Although firefighters at station 58 are the latest victims, firefighters at stations six, 31, and 15 have also had their personal cars broken into between June 30 to July 28, according to HPD.

At each station, multiple cars were broken into, one was even stolen from station 15. At station 31, one firefighter laid eyes on a burglar breaking into his vehicle. Lancton adds that sometimes the thieves are hopping fences on the property in the back parking lot where their cars are. 

"So you have this gate here, and you have a gate up front and, if you look around, we want to be accessible to the community and if somebody needs help, they need to be able to come and find us," said Lancton. "If they get called to an emergency, and let’s say that the door opener, like most of ours do when we leave, it doesn't catch, and sometimes it doesn't close. We can't stop and go back. We’ve got to go to the citizens, because seconds count in our line of work."

According to HPD, they provided us with details about break-ins at stations six, 31 and 15.

On June 30, at Station 31, a firefighter told HPD they were unloading a personal vehicle and relaxed. It was unlocked, went back, and saw a Hispanic male between the ages of 20 - 30 in his vehicle. That firefighter scared the burglar off, and he fled in a newer model black Tahoe that was parked across the street.

At Station six, around 5:45 a.m. on June 30, that’s when HPD got the call where multiple people complained that their vehicle was burglarized and items were stolen. A suspect is unknown. 

At Station 15, on July 28 about 5:30 a.m., HPD says multiple vehicles were broken into - one vehicle was stolen, and a firefighter last saw the stolen vehicle the night before, around 9 p.m.

Why you should care:

"They should not be having to think about what they are leaving at the fire station for thieves and burglars to come in and target, its unacceptable. They need to be caught and they need to the charged to the fullest extent. We will not tolerate that here in Houston," Lancton said. 

HPD says that the auto theft division is asking the public to come forward with any information. 

Houston Fire Chief Thomas Munoz sent us a statement saying: "The safety of our firefighters is our top priority. The HFD Arson Bureau is working closely with HPD's Auto Theft Division to identify and apprehend these criminals. We're taking immediate steps to enhance security at the stations while investigators work on this case. Anyone with information should contact Crimestoppers at 713-222-TIPS."