Burglar causes thousands in damage to Ronco volunteer fire department
A volunteer firefighter discovered Ronco Volunteer Fire Department suffered thousands of dollars of damages over the weekend when he arrived for their monthly meeting Sunday morning.
“We just got robbed,” John Habrat said he thought when he saw wires hanging from an arcade game.
State police are working to identify who broke in to the rural 614 Hilltop St. fire department, causing $6,200 in damages. Police said at least one person forcibly entered the location sometime between 9 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. Sunday, stealing two $800 Milwaukee Sawzalls, a $150 Stanley hand tool set, $500 in cash from a jukebox and $400 from an arcade game.
“It’s devastating. It hurt a little bit,” said Chief Nick Easter. “It’s a volunteer organization. We’re trying to help out the community.”
The majority of the costly damage was to the department’s garage door, which was pried open. A second door was also damaged, and the electronics inside the arcade games were removed, he said. He said insurance will likely cover the loss.
Easter said the department’s victimization was a hard blow as the department volunteers to serve Ronco’s citizens.
“It’s a small community. Everybody knows everybody,” he said.
In addition to fighting fires, assisting on vehicle accidents and community outreach, Habrat said the fire department gives young people in Ronco a purpose.
“It keeps us young guys out of trouble,” he said.
Easter said the department lies in the middle of a high-crime area in the midst of the opioid epidemic, adding someone was probably looking for “easy money.”
“We’ll get back. It takes time, but we’ll get back,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to call state police in Uniontown at 724-439-7111 or German Township Police at 724-892-2210.