Thieves out to steal fire department's brass valves

Ran in South Fort Myers life section and repurposed for 1-A (metro).

Stealing brass valves from some types of fire hydrants is the newest problem facing the South Trail Fire Department.

The missing valves have been discovered during routine inspections or emergency situations when fire officials struggle to connect and contain a fire.

These types of valves are generally found on commercial hydrants where more water might be needed.

"They are fire department connections which we hook up to and help the fire sprinkler system within a building ... to get more water on a fire at once," said Craig Brotheim, the fire marshal of the south trail fire department. "It's not good for anyone and tampering with the system delays our ability to quickly respond to extinguishing it."

Tampering with a fire suppression system is a felony, Brotheim said, and that's why the department is working to figure out why the valves have become a precious commodity among thieves.

"We can't really put our finger on it but it is a brass valve so the only thing we can assume is that there is a value in trading it as brass material for salvage," Brotheim said about the valves the department has had to replace for $70 apiece.

Daryld Hamilton of All Scrap Salvage was contacted by the fire department to be on the lookout for the valves. He buys clean brass for $1.40 a pound and dirty brass from 50 cents to $1.

"The price of metal is just so high and there are a lot of people that don't have many jobs right now and that's driving people to do this," said Hamilton, adding that his company doesn't accept any metal without proper identification. "People stealing copper was big six or eight months ago ... now it's brass so we are still on the lookout."

The thefts have cost the department several hundred dollars in recent weeks and Brotheim said the consumers and property owners are feeling it too.

"They have to be replaced and if something were to happen at the facility then it delays our stopping the fire," Brotheim said. "There is also further damage to the building and property and there is another cost too."

The Lee County Sheriff's Office has been notified of the thefts and an investigation is under way.

It's something that thieves target because just like materials on a construction site, these are left unattended," said John Sheehan, the spokesperson for the sheriff's office. "Brass is worth a lot of money and we will work on our end in Lee County to prevent this from happening."

In an effort to respond immediately to the problem, Brotheim said, he has purchased a valve for the four trucks in his department.

"What we have done to protect ourselves is that we purchased four valves and we have one on each truck in case we show up at a facility that has one stolen," Brotheim said adding that other districts are seeing the thefts in their areas as well. "It will give us a backup but not all districts have done that. But even then it can delay our operations."