Firefighters working to protect the community are becoming victims of crimes themselves in Florida.
Two separate cases of car burglaries were reported at the Orlando Fire Department Station 7 over the last two months.
And during Hurricane Matthew, two cars were broken into at Station 12 while firefighters were responding to calls.
“They put their life on the line for us and everybody takes advantage of them. That’s not right,” said Orlando resident Bryan Martin.
Cash and Universal tickets were stolen from lockers at Station 17 in August.
The Orlando Fire Department said a homeless person was recently found inside the building at the same station because a door was left unlocked.
The department said it is working to make sure firefighters feel safe.
“We have a good relationship with our union here, and we talk to them on a regular basis,” said Deputy Chief Gerald Lane. “We’re working with them to try and correct anything that we find as shortfalls.”
Lane said the department aims to have cameras on the outside of all fire stations.
“We’ve also evaluated the perimeters. We’re looking at fences. We’re looking at lighting,” said Lane.
The firefighters union has said it feels firefighters have been targeted and is working with the city to make stations more secure.
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