Florida Man Charged with Stealing Firefighter's Helmet

SEMINOLE, Fla. - A Pinellas County man has been charged with stealing the helmet of a firefighter who responded to help his friend.

The sheriff's office reports that Seminole Fire Rescue firefighters responded to treat an ill person Sunday morning. While rescue workers were inside the home treating the sick person, authorities say 21-year-old Christopher James Bergling got into the unlocked cab of the fire truck and took the helmet.

The firefighter noticed that his helmet, worth about $500, was missing several hours later. Deputies were able to track it back to Bergling.

He was charged with grand theft, burglary of an unoccupied vehicle and possession of a controlled substance. He was being held on $7,000 bail.
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Information from: St. Petersburg Times, http://tampabay.com

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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WTF...while this is messed up (who steals from a fire truck) WHY? WHY?WHY? did it take the firefighter "The firefighter noticed that his helmet, worth about $500, was missing several hours later."... Several hours later...what? Im glad there was not a call that required that piece of PPE.
Do you inventory everything in the rig each time you get back in? I'm guessing they cleared and went back to the fire house and he noticed it on his next call. Give a brother a break why don't ya.
I take a good look around... i think i would know if my helmet was missing
Well I can't always say the same. We might have a run where coats are left inside the rig, on top of our helmets. We get back in we don't start moving gear to inventory it, we just clear the scene and return. Shit can and does happen. But then, I'm in an area where that kind of shit just doesn't happen but still, I'm willing to give a brother the benefit of the doubt rather than be harsh about it.
WTF is right! Reminds me of the night we had $5000 worth of tools stolen from the shop at our station!!! There are a lot of stupid two-legged animals on the planet.
I want to take this opportunity to agree with Jack/dt. (Might not have another one anytime soon).
Theft from a fire truck, theft from a fire station. Theft from an ambulance. They all happen, the people doing it are scum.

Not noticing that his helmet was missing for a couple of hours? Seems easy to me. PPE left at the truck until the next call, helmet inside most likely? Arrive back at station, get out of truck, take off PPC, walk away. Helmet not worn at the incident, easy to miss noticing its lack on return. When we get back from a job we make sure that everything that was used has been replaced or correctly stowed. I've left my helmet on the trucks a couple of times - noticed before two hours was up because it wasn't on its hook when I went to get my car keys before going home (volunteer). A career member is likely not to notice until the next call or change of shift.
Buddy thinks his helmet getting stolen is bad we had a whole pumper truck stolen from one of our stations(volunteer) no one was at the hall and then the next morning one of the cheifs went in to do some paperwork and the phone was ringing and it was the police asking if they were missing a fire truck.imagine if the pager had went off and they went to find no firetruck.That person put people in serious risk mind you that there are neighbouring depts. but time lost in the chaos could have meant living or dying for someone.They never caught the person but they had the truck back but all the tools and medical bags radios all that was gone.This person should have been strungup by the short and curlys.

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