<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rural firefighters are heartbroken after about $30,000 of life-saving equipment was stolen while crews were deployed to a rescue on the NSW Mid North Coast.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Volunteers from the RFS Coolongolook Brigade were helping free a person trapped in a car yesterday afternoon when thieves broke into the truck and station on Midge Street.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They took off with radios, specialist equipment, the internet box, a chainsaw, and items from grants and donations.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-beach-shooting-anthony-albanese-royal-commission/be7e3624-a42e-4160-acae-492c3de66c17" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Prime Minister rejects plea from Bondi shooting victims' families</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Coolongolook Captain Andy Gilbert said he was "absolutely gutted".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I've been building the brigade up over the past 10, 12 years, and it's taken a lot to get all the equipment," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gilbert said the theft has impacted their capabilities on the ground, making it difficult for them to respond to fires and car accidents during the height of the bushfire season.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-rfs-coolongolook-brigade-30000-worth-of-equipment-stolen/54bf1b0f-502c-4c8a-9880-2a1ef78c9650" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"That's what these people don't realise when they do these things. It puts the community and the wider community at risk," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We're operational, but we're limited." </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The brigade said the thieves parked down the hill from the station and used a wheelie bin to transport the stolen items to their car.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span> </span><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/brisbane-bins-acacia-ridge-claims-his-yellow-bin-missed-for-14-weeks/6b9f215b-6353-497e-b6ff-5947bd0652d7" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>'Driving me mad': Man claims recycling bin not emptied for months</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Manning Great Lakes Police said it was investigating the robbery believed to have occurred between 4pm on Tuesday and 12pm yesterday. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The public has been urged to keep an eye out for the items, particularly for resale online.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The RFS and MidCoast Council are working through insurance paperwork so that the brigade can recover as much of their losses as possible.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Gilbert warned it could take weeks to months to get all the equipment back. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Coolongolook has a population of roughly 400 people and is a service town, with just three service stations and a handful of takeaway shops. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The community has rallied around the brigade and offered their support and donations.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span></span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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