Thieves stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment, including Jaws of Life, from Houston fire trucks.

As KPRC 2 Investigates has learned, at least four different fire stations, including one in Houston, have been theft victims, and tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment purchased with public funds has disappeared.

Police recently recovered Jaws of Life from a stolen vehicle that was linked to both ATM theft and catalytic converter theft.

No arrests were made in any of the cases, although several police agencies are aware of the problem and suspicious information is circulating among law enforcement agencies.

“They took two chainsaws, two cut-off saws and two portable light generators to light the stage. That was the end of it,” said Ponderosa Fire Chief Fred Windisch.

A few weeks later, another incident occurred in front of one of their stations.

Volunteer fire chief Klein, who temporarily covered calls to Ponderosa, was also targeted in broad daylight.

Recently, the head of HPD circulated an interagency memo instructing firefighters in so-called “heavy vehicles” such as fire engines to leave one person to watch the truck except in an emergency.

Chief Windisch said he was forced into much the same policy.

It appears that most of the missing equipment is insured.

If you have information about a theft from local fire trucks or ambulances, you are strongly encouraged to call the Houston Crime Squad at 713-222-TIPS. You can remain anonymous.