By Christine McCarthy
MCLENNAN COUNTY- Investigators with the McLennan County Sheriff's Office arrested an 18-year-old local man for allegedly breaking into a volunteer fire department.
Deputies arrested Clifton Lamar Lambert on Tuesday and booked him into McLennan County Jail on three counts of burglary and three counts of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was released from jail on a combined $22,000 bond.
Late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, Lambert and at least one other allegedly forced their way through a door at the Leroy Volunteer Fire Department and stole bunker coats, pants, boots, helmets, a trauma bag, an airway bag and an automated external defibrillator.
Two helmets, pants and boots were recovered on the side of the road in Elm Mott, but the lost equipment cost the small volunteer department $3,000 to $5,000.
The Leroy-Axtell Volunteer Fire Department current receives $5,000 a year from the county to sustain its operations, with a few thousand more collected in private donations. The loss, therefore, was a major blow to the small department with a vital job for the community.
"The [defibrillator] is one of our most important life-saving pieces of equipment for a cardiac arrest patient," Assistant Fire Chief David Alexander said, "and, with one coming out of Axtell, it would take an additional 8 to 10 minutes to get over there."
Alexander said he and other Leroy-Axtell volunteers were worried about the public's safety and considered the break-in a personal blow.
"I've been here since 1999 and I felt like somebody broke into my own home," Alexander said.
The department, however, is extremely grateful to Lorena and Mart fire departments for offering bunker gear and to Robinson Fire for donating a gently used defibrillator. The Texas Forest Service also donated some items, including bunker gear, hoses, foam, a tool box and other various equipment.
Alexander did not know if any more equipment had been recovered following Lambert's arrest but said he is hopeful it will be returned and glad someone is being held responsible.
"Hopefully now that they know who did it and that they've caught at least one person, hopefully he'll come through and either let us know where our stuff is or how we can get it back," Alexander said. "But it does make us feel good that somebody was found."
Alexander said the department has received some donations because of the thefts and one person even inquired about joining their department.
