Thieves plunder fire station in bushfire-ravaged town stealing donated recovery equipment

A town at the heart of Victoria’s devastating bushfires has faced another crushing blow as thieves looted the local fire station for fuel and valuable tools.

Police are launching an investigation after thousands of dollars worth of tools were stolen from the Terip Terip CFA station over the Easter long weekend.

Terip Terip was at the epicenter of the Longwood wildfires, the largest in a series of blazes across the state in January that destroyed homes, acres of farmland and thousands of cattle.

The criminals are thought to have broken into the station and stolen fuel, chainsaws, fire pumps, radios and charging stations before escaping.

Terip Terip CFA volunteer Jonathan Tofts told NewsWire the thefts were a “low act,” especially since some of the stolen items were donated to help the community recover after the bushfires.

“This is a big blow,” he said.

“We still need this equipment to continue our recovery process.

“We are coming to winter, it is quite windy here and many trees have fallen on the roads.

“We try to keep them open to the local community, but we can’t do that anymore as we don’t have a chainsaw.”

Mr Tofts said the community “remained strong” after the Longwood fires and called out thieves.

“Just deliver the items to your local police station,” he said.

“You’d better surrender yourself while you do this.”

“The investigation into the incident continues,” the police spokesman said.

Police are urging anyone with information or who witnessed suspicious activity to come forward.