When this Salt Lake City thief couldn't get the gas cap off a truck, he drilled the tank.
Funny thing about drilling through metal: It gets hot, it sparks, and any combination of those things could set gasoline on fire.
It's good that truck had a low amount of fuel in it, or it could have gone KABLOOEY!
The delivery truck belonged to, I kid you not, a fire protection company.
The branch manager, Travis Mills, said they've had several gallons of fuel siphoned from their vehicles. The thieves come in broad daylight when the business is open and steal the fuel. They've also had several catalytic converters stolen and various smash-and-grab thefts.
However, the thefts are the least of their worries when compared to the cost of not being able to do business at all:
"We have downtime with our guys, immediately. Oftentimes we don't know what's going on with [a vehicle] until we go to get in it, and now your gas is gone, and it doesn't start."
The vehicle is out of commission until it can be repaired, which is very costly — if they can even find a replacement.
"We're finding that gas tanks are hard to come by," Mills said.
The Salt Lake City fire marshal recommended that people not park their vehicle where it might be targeted, and not to start the vehicle if it smells like gasoline or looks like the tank was tampered with.
As of yet, the police are still searching for the guy who tried to steal the fuel, but if it were me, I'd look for the guy at the hospital.
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