Orange County arsonist occupies firefighters with blaze, then burgles fire station

Police in Orange County are looking for an enterprising arsonist who is stealing firefighters’ food money, authorities said Friday.

Police believe the man starts small blazes near fire stations and waits for the crew to respond. When the firehouse clears out, he runs inside and empties the cash box for food, police said.

The man burglarized an Orange County Fire Authority station in the 1600 block of East 4^th Street in Santa Ana on Sunday, Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. An Anaheim station was burgled earlier this week.

Detectives are investigating whether the thief is connected to fires in Irvine and the Inland Empire as well, Bertagna said.

Although fire stations in those cities have not had their chow funds stolen, the fires were set very nearby the stations. Investigators wonder whether the thief had planned to burgle the stations but balked for some reason.

“Perplexing, isn’t it?” Bertagna said. “Is he listening to a scanner? Did he go through fire training or apply to be a firefighter and didn’t get in? These are all questions that our detectives are asking.”

Surveillance videos have provided a few small clues in the case.

The thief appears to be driving a 2000- to 2005-model Buick LaSabre, and one video provided by Santa Ana police shows the man trying to start a fire about 5:30 a.m. Sunday, failing, then returning to the scene to reignite it so he can burglarize the station nearby.

Anyone with information on the man’s identity or whereabouts is asked to call Santa Ana police at (714) 245-8732.

joseph.serna@latimes.com

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter.

ALSO

Dog poop, GPS trackers and security cameras: Cracking down on Christmas package thieves

Authorities look for killer who doused gas station clerk in flammable liquid and then burned him

Flight delays and gridlock mean a long day ahead for LAX travelers