Squaw Creek Canyon fire station burglary spurs shock, concern

Sisters-area residents expressed shock Thursday and fire officials provided more details after burglars broke into a fire station and made off with about $17,000 worth of lifesaving and firefighting gear, from automated defibrillators to chain saws and thermal imagers.

Deschutes County sheriff’s deputies responded around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to the reported burglary at the Sisters-Camp Sherman Fire District Station 703, located in the Squaw Creek Canyon Estates subdivision several miles northeast of Sisters, said sheriff’s Lt. Chad Davis.

NewsChannel 21 spoke Thursday with Sisters-Camp Sherman Deputy Fire Chief Tim Craig and Capt. Steve Ward to learn more about the burglary.

Craig explained how the burglars broke into the unstaffed fire station some time between 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tuesday , taking items that included chain saws, automated defibrillators and a GPS unit.

Ward stopped by the station at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday to pick up batteries. As soon as he entered the side door of the bay, he said he knew something was off. Fire truck doors were left open and equipment was scattered and misplaced.

Ward said he believes he interrupted the burglars, as there was other equipment left by the open window he believes they entered through. It is unclear whether the opened window was locked, but the impact of the thefts is clear.

“The equipment that was stolen is critical to our mission of protecting lives and property,” Craig said.

While the loss to the fire district is significant, Craig said the station is still in service and able to respond to all emergencies. “We were able to transfer equipment from lesser used wildfire response units at the main fire station to get the units back in service at station 703,” he explained.

NewsChannel 21 also spoke with Sisters residents who said they were shocked and angry that someone would steal from a volunteer fire station.

“As a member of this organization, it hurts,” Craig said. “It’s not something that we expect. The fire service is generally not a target, but in this case, we were.”

This isn’t the first rural Oregon fire station to be broken into this year — in fact, it’s at least the third. There was a similar burglary in Florence a few days prior to one near Sisters, and there was a costly, $50,000 break-in Marcola last February.

“It was a satellite station, out in a rural area, and a station staffed primarily by volunteers,” Craig said, describing the similar Florence break-in. It is unknown whether the crimes are related.

At the time of the Squaw Creek Canyon robbery, there was no video surveillance. Now, all fire stations in Sisters are working to boost their security.

Sheriff’s detectives assisted deputies with processing the scene for evidence and will continue to assist in the investigation, Davis said.

The sheriff’s office is seeking the assistance of the public and is asking anyone with information that could lead to the culprits and gear to contact dispatchers at 541-693-6911 .

You can also call the Crime Stoppers Tip Line at 1-877-876-TIPS, or use the form on KTVZ.COM ‘s Crime Stoppers page . You can remain anonymous, and you could be eligible for a cash reward.