Excerpts from cbsnews.com:
Vandals destroyed the firehouse of the Homewood Acres Volunteer Fire Department over Memorial Day weekend in broad daylight. The discovery was made days later.
Every single one of the 11 rooms in the firehouse at 3860 183rd St. in the unincorporated community of Homewood Acres was a disaster area. Cameras caught four kids making a mess of the place.
All the kitchen cabinets were ripped off, the refrigerator was tipped over, the stove was pulled out and was leaking gas. Furniture was tipped over and strewn everywhere. The toughest blow was the firehouse flag, carrying the motto, “Trained in tradition… paid in pride.” It was ripped down, and is now covered with dirt.
Surveillance video captured the break-in early Saturday morning. First, two kids were seen throwing something into the firehouse window. They then used a stolen fire ladder to climb inside. Two other kids join them afterward. With hammers in hand, the kids went room to room. They figured out they were on security camera – and went for the camera too.
The kids took about $160 in cash, some snacks, and nothing else. But they did at least $100,000 worth of damage at the firehouse.
The Cook County Sheriff’s office says the kids are between 9 and 14 years old and is investigating using the surveillance video as well as fingerprints to try to catch those responsible.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been set up in hopes of rebuilding the fire station.
