Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit Station photos spark concern

Station photos spark concern

Published: September 28, 2007

By ALISHA WYMAN

The Union Democrat

Fire officials at two Cal Fire stations in the Tuolumne-Calaveras Unit reported suspicious men taking photos of their stations earlier this week.

This follows four similar incidents elsewhere in Northern California over the past few months.

Homeland Security issued a bulletin to fire personnel a few months ago, warning fire stations to be aware of such incidents, said Dennis Townsend, chief of fire prevention and law enforcement for the unit.

At the time, Townsend and others from the unit weren't too concerned due to the rural nature of the Mother Lode.

"We didn't think anyone would come up and engage in that type of activity in our county," he said.

But Monday, a firefighter at the Green Springs station looked out the window and saw two men taking photos of the station.

When the station captain confronted them, they said they were students from Flagstaff, Ariz., on their way to Yosemite. The subjects left in a white sedan.

The two men appeared to be in their 40s, spoke broken English, and were possibly of Middle Eastern descent, Townsend said. The captain got the license plate, but the car turned out to be rented.

Later, firefighters at the unit's West Point station spotted subjects photographing an open engine bay.

When the captain walked outside, the subjects fled in a white SUV. They too appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, Townsend said.

"I don't want it to sound like it reflects on any nationality," he said. "What we deal with is the nature of the incident."

Stations reported similar incidents in Campbell, Yuba City, Fresno and Sacramento between late July and early September.

It's not unusual to have people photographing stations, but they usually request permission to do so, Townsend said. That the men in question did so covertly caused department officials some concern.

"Having two incidents in one day, it causes me to think that there's a potential for our security in our department and our stations to be compromised," he said.

Townsend passed on the information to Cal Fire law enforcement officials in Sacramento.

The department has also alerted unit stations to be on the lookout for suspicious activity, and to attempt to get license plates and vehicle descriptions should they see anyone taking photos.

But so far, there isn't any reason for fear or alarm, he said.

"They may be harmless, certainly, but whatever purpose they have might be a threat to our own security," he said.