Communities have been put at risk by a series of thefts from rural fire service sheds in the NSW towns of Yass and Gundaroo over the holiday period, police say.
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Sometime between December 16 and 27, thieves broke into the Back Creek Rural Fire Service shed at Gundaroo, ripping out metal sheeting at the back of the shed to get inside, according to police.
A chainsaw, a generator, fuel cans, headlamps and a leaf blower were stolen.
"This equipment is used to save lives and property," police said in a statement.
To make things worse, however, the Gundaroo Rural Fire Brigade said fuel was even emptied out of trucks.
"Of a more serious concern, the trucks were emptied of their diesel fuel, putting our whole community at serious risk if theses appliances were to be required for an emergency," they said in a statement.
Hume Local Area Command Inspector Rob Post said there have also been "a number" of other thefts from rural fire service sheds, including "a couple" in the outskirts of Yass.
"We have had a few incidents at rural fire sheds that are in remote areas," Inspector Post said.
He said possible links between the thefts were being investigated.
"It's something we are looking into as there have been several in a short period of time," he said.
In Woodlands, near Bowral, three chainsaws were stolen from a property off Woodlands Road on the weekend before Christmas.
Also on the weekend of December 22 to 23, four drills, an angle grinder and a circular saw were stolen from a car parked on Clarke Street in Bowral.
Inspector Post said it was normal for these items to be stolen considering their value.
