It's all well and good playing a little bit of dress up, but there has to be a limit to the fun. A pair have been arrested for buying an entire firetruck and roleplaying as firemen.
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The two faux firefighters had managed to buy themselves a firetruck at an auction. They then proceeded to kit themselves, and the truck, out with all the gear they would need. They had the whole thing down too, with full turnout gear, helmets, and radios.
So, they decided to try out their disguises at the wildfires still burning across California. As they approached The Palisades, they came across a checkpoint. Confidently rolling up in their very own firetruck, they were stopped. They claimed that their truck was from the Roaring River Fire Department in Oregon.
However, one keen-eyed
fire chief noticed something fishy going on. Sure, aid is flooding in from everywhere across America, but the name didn't sit right with him. He did a little investigating and found that there was no Roaring River that the firetruck and fake firemen could have come from.The Game Was Up For Fake Firefighter Fun
When the illegitimate truck was noticed, a call was put out to the local deputies. They immediately tracked down the fake firetruck and apprehended Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44. They were both arrested and charged with impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone. The firetruck has been impounded.
What the two of them were planning by entering the evacuation zone with a firetruck is anyone's guess. However, it turns out that Dustin does have a prior conviction for arson and criminal mischief. Whatever he was planning was certainly on brand.
Buying a whole firetruck and driving it into some of the biggest wildfires the US has ever had is criminally mischievous and perfect for any arsonist. I expect the few hours they had, driving around in their truck, was great fun. It takes a serious level of confidence to pull off faking being a firefighter with an entire truck.
There is also a chance they were trying to help out with the fires. But, there are ways to do it that don't involve a firetruck and impersonating emergency services.
