An armed robber stuck a handgun in a Trenton fire captain’s face while he was on a call in the Chambersburg neighborhood Tuesday night, fire officials said.
The fire captain, from Engine Co. 7 on Hamilton Avenue, was not injured during the 6:45 p.m. incident on Cummings Place, officials said.
Trenton police detectives are investigating the crime. No arrests have been made, the police department said Wednesday.
The robbery occurred after Engine Co. 7 assisted on a medical call on Cummings Place – a small dead-end street off Cummings Avenue, officials said. Engine 7 was sent to a fire call and left the scene, but returned later to retrieve a piece of medical gear at the house, officials said.
The three-man fire crew knocked on the door, but did not get an answer, officials said. The captain returned to the fire truck, to get a piece of paper to leave a note about the equipment and was returning to the house when the robber approached him from behind, officials said.
The robber pointed a handgun at the captain and ordered him to empty his pockets. Another man appeared nearby and the robber said something to the other man like, “This guy is not from my hood,” officials said. Both men fled on foot, officials said.
Fire officers’ union president Steve Coltre said the incident is sobering for the department.
“The fire department is out there bettering the community, and these kinds of incidents hinder and deter our ability to help the community,” Coltre said.
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Coltre said such incidents are likely isolated, but throughout the country recently, firefighters are hearing of more and more incidents of firefighters being injured or attacked during crimes while on calls.
“And now we’re seeing this in our backyard,” he said. “We just want to remind the residents we are there for their benefit.”
Coltre said city firefighters were scheduled to receive bulletproof vests last year to wear while on medical calls, like many ambulance and EMS crews wear.
The unions negotiated for them in contract negotiations with the city, but have not yet received them, he said.
Coltre said the two firefighters’ unions understand the financial strains in Trenton, and are trying to be patient.
“But this is why we need those vests,” he said.
Trenton Fire Director Qareeb Bashir also said the incident was disheartening.
“It just opens your eyes to a whole new segment of being a first responder,” Bashir said. He city firefighters do not expect to be a victim while on calls.
He said the department, though, is resilient and crews will continue to respond and react in a positive manner when summoned.
Trenton police say they are looking for a man with a light complexion, about 6-feet tall with a thin build who appeared about 35 to 30 years old and wore a dark jacket.
