enterprising teen

Someone should give this kid a job.

Every five year old boy wants to be a fireman. Some of them grow up and do just that. The vast majority, however, get sidetracked with other options. It seems that seventeen year old Michael Bellamy never wavered from that, and remained interested in fire engines. He’d go to the Hillsborough County Fire & Rescue station and help wash the trucks, and learn all about them. He wanted badly to drive one, but wasn’t sure how to go about it. Or maybe he was told he wasn’t allowed. Or perhaps firefighters just blew him off. But Michael Bellamy really wanted to drive a fire engine.

So this enterprising teen borrowed one without permission. Ok, he stole it.

“He said he did it just to have fun,” [Sheriff spokesman JD] Callaway said.

You or I can’t just go and take a fire engine, you know. Oh – it doesn’t need any keys to start it. But there are “about a half-dozen functions you have to go through to get the thing running,” says Fire Rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley. Someone would have to know what they are doing just to get it started.

And if you have an inkling to take a fire engine without permission, then you’ll want to make sure there are no firefighters around to stop you. But if the fire station is empty of people, the truck would be locked in the building. So you also need to find a way to make sure the truck is left outside.

The young man hatched an ingenious plan. And it worked. To be sure, it’s not like stealing millions of dollars from five casinos. But for seventeen years old, some would say it’s a good start. Let’s call it Ocean’s 17.

He [allegedly] called the Bloomingdale fire station and told the crew he was from the fire engine manufacturer. They needed to leave the truck out back for use at another station where an existing fire engine was in the shop. “No problem,” responded the fire station crew. And the fire engine was put out back for a company rep to pick up.

Bellamy then [allegedly] called 911 with a story to get them out of the station. Maybe like this: “Uhhh… There’s a fire over there near the Bloomingdale station. Not right AT the station, but kinda close to it, and those guys should probably respond, k?” “Of course,” said the dispatcher. “They are on the way.”

Of course, then he [allegedly] went over to the abandoned station, hopped up in the fire engine left out back, and went through all that rigmarole to get it started. He probably cheered a little bit. He then [allegedly] got it out of the lot, directing it with that cartoonish-looking oversized steering wheel. He [allegedly] flipped on the sirens and lights and took it three miles or so.

That was Saturday. No one even knew the fire truck was missing until Monday.

The truck got stuck in the mud at a construction site. When workers showed up Monday, they called Hillsborough County Fire & Rescue:

“Hey! Did you guys leave a truck here?… Shiny, ugly yellow-greenish sorta thing with lots of bells & whistles… Big ladder… Yep, Hillsborough tags and “My other car is an ECNALUBMA” bumper sticker… No, sorry, we can’t even figure out how to start the damn thing…

Curiosity, listening, paying attention, learning new skills, having goals, motivation, taking the initiative, thinking ahead… all those things you try to instill in your lazy teenager. Someone should give this kid a job.