Missing: the jaws of life

In one of the most bizarre recent cases of theft, someone stole the Galveston Fire Department's jaws of life on Christmas Day — and since then, the department has been hoping it doesn't have to pull anyone out of a mangled vehicle. The equipment, which will cost nearly $13,000 to replace, was taken from the back of a fire truck on Christmas morning as firefighters responded to an emergency call.

"Personally, it hurts quite a bit, because we're out here trying to help the citizens of the community," said Capt. Tim Johnson with the Galveston Fire Department. "To have something like that taken from us, that will not enable us to do our job correctly, it hurts quite a bit."

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Chief [Michael] Varela said, "It just amazes me that someone would be bold enough to come into the station or to enter the truck when it was on that call that they made and just take a piece of equipment that's so important to this department."

GFD personnel said whoever stole the jaws apparently knew what they were doing — the equipment is in multiple parts and weighs 60 pounds, which indicates more than one person was involved. The department has ordered a replacement unit, but it won't be in for three or four weeks; in the meantime, an older piece of equipment is being used. (Houstonist never knows when we'll learn something — turns out the jaws of life was invented in 1972 to rescue race car drivers after crashes. Here's how it works.)