Buena Park : Hydrants Being Stolen by Thieves With Brass
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Thieves with a “definite . . . knowledge of what they are doing” have stolen 10 fire hydrants in the last week in Buena Park, Fire Department officials said Friday.
Battalion Chief Bill Edmundson said the thieves probably want the fire hydrants either to sell as collectors’ pieces or for the recycling value of the solid brass, 60-pound fixtures. Brass, he said, “is going for 35 cents to 40 cents a pound.”
Fire officials have been able to replace each hydrant within 24 hours of each theft, Edmundson said, but the thefts come at a bad time.
“Christmas is a peak fire season for us,” he said. “I have a responsibility for life and property and I don’t need it to be any more difficult than it is. My hope is it stops immediately.”
The latest thefts occurred Thursday at 7341 Orangethorpe Ave., 6910 Aragon Circle and 6152 Stanton Ave. The thief or thieves use a special tool to turn off the water valve in the street before they unbolt the hydrant, Edmundson said.
But at one site, the thief apparently also turned off water to a convalescent home in the 9000 block of Knott Avenue, he said.
The city has 2,200 fire hydrants and pays about $350 each for them, he said.
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