Over the past several weeks, several drug thefts have occurred, with the thieves stealing morphine and Versed, from locked boxes in ambulances located at two separate rescue stations.
According to
Fox News (via Associated Press), emergency officials are now investing in new secured drug compartments, with separate lock boxes for the two drugs.
The thefts began on Apr. 20, when two 10-mg ampules of
morphine and two 5-mg vials of
Versed were taken from one rescue station's locked compartment. Two days later, a theft occurred from another station with the same types of drugs stolen. A third theft occurred at the same location as the second incident, but along with a theft of morphine, the thief also took Valium and other narcotic drugs.
According to
Fredericksburg.com (via The Free Lance-Star), the cost for the new security will be about $3,000.
As a part of the immediate solution, Fire Chief Chris Eudailey said only select supervisors will currently have access to those drugs and will respond to calls where drugs are needed until the new boxes are installed.
This is a short term solution as a barrier for future thefts, but ideally the county wants to invest in a secured system that uses authentication procedures to identify who accessed the storage area and when, said Eudailey.
Free Lance-Star reported EMS Commissioner Eric Lasky said, “The fact of the matter is, now we’re going to go well above what the commonwealth of Virginia requires of us to ensure these things don’t happen again,” said Lasky. Lasky is a rescue chief with Chancellor Volunteer Fire and Rescue.
Eudailey said he hopes police make an arrest soon, reported Free Lance-Star. "It doesn't matter whether they're career or volunteer" personnel, he said. "We're going to ensure that they're prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
Earlier this year, bags containing CPR equipment were taken from ambulances in Wisconsin. In that theft it is believed thieves potentially thought the bags contained drugs.
