EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — An inmate firefighter working a vegetation fire near Shingle Springs in El Dorado County is accused of stealing and wrecking a Cal Fire fire engine.
The inmate firefighter was assigned to the Growlersburg Camp when he allegedly stole the fire engine, investigators said. The joyride, which happened Sunday, July 4, within the CAL FIRE Amador-El Dorado Unit, went through a fence where he rammed a parked vehicle, a tree and another fence before becoming stuck in a ditch.
The inmate, only identified as a 31-year-old male, was injured in the crash and taken to the hospital. Investigators say he is in good condition and expected to recover. The identity of the inmate is being withheld pending this ongoing investigation, authorities said. He was first incarcerated in Orange County in 2015.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP), Cal Fire, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Sierra Conservation Center, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office all responded and helped bring the situation to an end.
No firefighters or civilians were injured during the crash.
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