THIEVES STEAL MEDICAL TOOLS FROM FIRETRUCK.

Byline: Sonia Giordani Daily News Staff Writer

Two men stole a medical kit and a heart defibrillator worth thousands of dollars from a Ventura city fire engine Monday night while paramedics were assisting an elderly woman who had called for help.

Paramedics and firefighters with Ventura City Fire Engine No. 4 had carried the defibrillator with them along with other emergency medical equipment into the home of 96-year-old Ruby Jorgenson, who had fallen in her Balboa Street home and injured her legs.

After stabilizing Jorgenson and seeing her off in an ambulance, the paramedics began loading the equipment back onto their truck.

``They brought the defibrillator back out to the fire engine and went back into the house to get the rest of the equipment,'' said Battalion Chief Bill Rigg. ``But when they came out again, some witnesses said they saw two guys take something and speed away in a truck.''

Ventura police described the suspects as two white males, between 18 and 22 years old. They fled the area driving a red mini pickup truck with an older-looking, light-colored camper shell.

``The paramedics usually stay pretty close to this equipment,'' said Ventura Police Sgt. George Morris. ``But I understand these guys were quick. They just pulled up, ran to the fire engine, grabbed the equipment and took off.''

Each of the city of Ventura's four paramedic fire engines are equipped with a manual defibrillator, a high-tech piece of medical equipment worth $10,000 that stabilizes and monitors the human heartbeat.

Paramedics are trained to use the equipment to read heart rhythms and if necessary to revive victims of heart attacks.

``It's designed to help people having medical emergencies. Inappropriately used, however, you could harm or kill somebody,'' said Morris, who is heading up the investigation to retrieve the defibrillator before it is resold or discarded.

Police and fire officials said the equipment was likely stolen to be resold on the black market. But with a recent trend among golf courses, supermarkets and other private businesses purchasing such equipment as a precaution for patrons, there is a chance that the suspects may try to resell the defibrillator locally.

The suspects also stole a pediatric medical kit from the fire engine. The kit includes equipment and tools needed to assist in childbirth and with child injuries.

Although Monday's theft is the first time a defibrillator has been stolen, Rigg said smaller items have been stolen from the city's six fire engines and one firetruck in the past.

Last week, a portable radio was stolen from an engine while the crew was completing a physical training exercise at a local beach.

Any information on Monday's theft should be reported to Ventura Police Department Detective Rick Cook at [phone] or to Sgt. George Morris at [phone].