A New Hampshire Man’s House Was Burning Down, but He Allegedly Responded by Stealing the Fire Department’s Rescue Truck
"No firefighters were physically injured."
A New Hampshire man’s home was going up in flames. He allegedly responded by stealing a rescue truck from the firefighters trying to save it. According to New York Post, Nestor Roman II of Dalton then crashed into a fire engine, drove over active hoses, and narrowly missed three firefighters before fleeing. He later crashed the vehicle several miles from his burning home.
New Hampshire State Police say troopers were responding around 3:50 a.m. Tuesday to assist Dalton Fire & Rescue with a structure fire near Faraway Road and Mountain Road. That’s when they learned a Whitefield Fire & Rescue vehicle had been stolen. As firefighters battled the blaze, Roman allegedly got into Whitefield’s F550 rescue truck and drove away shortly before 5 a.m.
The department said Roman allegedly drove around Whitefield’s E3 fire engine, nearly striking two firefighters in the process. He narrowly missed a third who could have been pinned between the two large trucks, before crashing into the E3 and a small pickup. State police said he drove over multiple charged water supply lines while fleeing, though the hoses weren’t damaged. He also struck a firefighter’s personal vehicle and two properties’ wooden fences farther down the road.
The Charges Reflect a Vehicle Treated as a Weapon
The escape ended several miles away. A Dalton homeowner reported the stolen truck had crashed on their property, and that Roman was allegedly trying to take items from the porch. Troopers found him there and, despite him being uncooperative, took him into custody. Roman was charged with three felony counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, along with burglary and two counts of theft by unauthorized taking.
Under New Hampshire’s reckless conduct statute, RSA 631:3, the offense is ordinarily a misdemeanor. It becomes a class B felony, punishable by up to seven years in prison, when the person uses a “deadly weapon” as legally defined. New Hampshire courts have held that this can include a motor vehicle driven in a way that endangers others. A nearly identical legal theory was used in a past New Hampshire case, State v. Paige, where a driver fled police and nearly struck a cyclist, resulting in the same felony charge.
The burglary charge, under RSA 635:1, applies to unlawfully entering or remaining on property with the purpose of committing a crime there. That fits the alleged attempt to take items from the homeowner’s porch after the crash. Roman also faces several misdemeanor charges: obstructing government administration, four counts of conduct after an accident, resisting arrest and detention, and driving after suspension.
He also faces two counts of driving over a fire hose without consent, a specific violation under RSA 265:101 that normally carries only a modest civil fine outside of a case this serious. Despite the significant damage, Whitefield’s E3 was able to remain in operation. Firefighters ultimately extinguished the blaze, though fire officials said the house itself was a “complete loss.” The New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating the cause of the fire.
“We are extremely thankful that no firefighters were physically injured despite the close call,” Dalton Fire & Rescue said in a statement.
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