McDavitt Rescue Truck Stolen!
Fire chief says rig was "trashed"

During the early morning hours of May 27th, the McDavitt Fire Department’s fire station on St. Louis County Highway 27 was burglarized.  The thieves ransacked the building and made off with the department’s rescue truck, which was found in the parking lot of the Fairview University Medical Center-Mesabi in Hibbing.  The damage and vandalism was unbelievable.  The whole place and the rig were just trashed, said FireChief Gail Lanyk.  "We lost a lot of valuable equipment that is going to be costly to replace."   According to Lanyk, the fire department’s de-fib unit was taken and has not been located.  Blood pressure cuffs, bandages, helmets and turn-out gear were just some of the things which were missing.  The rescue truck had damage to the front and rear bumpers, but it is drivable.  "This senseless act was devastating to our department and the community", added Lanyk.  "If we had a medical emergency or fire right after the burglary, we would have been severely limited in our capabilities.  As it is now, we still are not up to full speed and we are still short on equipment.  The Pike-Sandy-Britt Fire Department has loaned us a de-fib unit for our use and we are very thankful for that".

According to Chief Lanyk, the burglary remains under investigation by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Department and one suspect has been apprehended.   It’s just sickening that this happened and the people who did this probably never realized that their actions hurt a lot of people.