In an early evening bit of derring-do last night, an unnamed individual reportedly stole a San Francisco Fire Department battalion chief vehicle right out of a station. KRON 4 reports that the vehicle in question is not an actual fire truck, but rather one of those department red Ford Explorers that can frequently be seen cruising the city streets.
While details on the crime are few, we know that the theft went down around 8:40 p.m., and that the vehicle was taken from inside Station 8 on Bluxome Street near 4th. SFPD officers were able to spot the extremely recognizable truck on the street, and the suspect was taken into custody.
The vehicle was returned to the station and there is no word if it was damaged in any way by the suspect.
This is not the first time a SFFD vehicle has been stolen. Last June a SFFD ambulance was taken from Mason Street during a medical emergency. In that incident a police chase ensued, and the driver ended up crashing the $225,000 ambulance on the east-bound Treasure Island off ramp. It caught fire after the wreck.
Nothing so dramatic appears to have happened last night, as video from the scene of the arrest (embedded below) shows the SUV decidedly not on fire.
Related: Just How, Exactly, Did An SF Woman Steal That Ambulance Yesterday?