By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – While conducting a downtown fire inspection Monday morning, the Port Angeles Fire Department noticed a business with a missing fire department connection, or FDC.
A quick survey found that 13 downtown businesses were recently vandalized and the brass FDC connections were damaged or stolen.
The FDC serves as a water connection between the fire engine and the building’s fire sprinkler system. Without those FDC connections, the fire sprinkler would still function, but the FDC backup is often needed to control or put out a fire.
The department filed a police report, and local metal recycling businesses were contacted to determine if the large brass fittings were turned in for salvage.
Within a few hours of contacting All Metal Recycling in Port Angeles, the owner, Chris Edwards, called and said he had recovered the brass parts and had declined to pay out any money for them. We asked Edwards to describe for us how that went down.
“You know, if I’ve been tipped off on stolen material, if somebody brings it in, I give them the option of leaving the material with me, waiting for the cops, or leaving. And nine times out of ten, they leave.”
Did Edwards recognize the guy as a frequent customer?
“I did not, no. I did take some pictures of him, though. Just so, you know, the cops and the fire department had something to go off of as to who he is.”
Ultimately, the parts were recovered and, by Tuesday, many of them were reinstalled in the buildings they had come from.
Police were still working to identify the person involved as of Friday.
Edwards left us with this bit of advice.
“Most definitely, if you have materials that you think could be stolen, or might be stolen in the future, take pictures of it. That’s the best thing I can do. Because, unfortunately, for me, it’s really hard to tell the difference between stolen and not stolen scrap metal. So, if you have pictures that you can bring me, and show me what was stolen, I have a better idea and can look out for it better that way.”
(PAFD photo)