Greenwood Township Fire Truck Stolen and Recovered
August 20, 2011 — Greenwood Township firefighters had quite a surprise awaiting them when they returned from a recent fire call. Firefighters were dispatched to a report of a structure fire on the Duffy Point Road on Friday evening, July 22. When they returned to the fire station around 1:20 a.m., Saturday morning, they discovered that the department's mini pumper/rescue truck was missing. The St. Louis County Sheriff's Department was immediately notified and within 30 minutes, the truck was located by sheriff's deputies in the City of Cook. 25 year old Merle Leecy from Gheen was taken into custody and later charged with theft of a motor vehicle and driving while impaired. Several lengths of 1 3/4" fire hose were destroyed and a couple of nozzles were damaged when they came off the truck and were dragged a considerable distance. The front bumper and hood were damaged along with the truck body. The vehicle was taken to a local car/truck dealership to determine if any damage had occurred to the engine and transmission. Preliminary evaluations showed that engine and tranny had no immediate damage. Greenwood Fire Chief Scott Kregness said he is grateful that the truck was not extensively damaged and that it was able to quickly return to service. "This truck is a valuable resource to Greenwood Township," Kregness said. "It carries essential emergency medical and rescue equipment. We are thankful that we did not have an emergency call while it was missing."