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International Business Times
International Business Times
Elizabeth Urban

California Police Pull Over 'Suspicious' Fire Engine to Find Fake Firefighters Trying to Enter Evacuation Zone

The fire engine was stopped while trying to enter an evacuation zone after a Los Angeles patrol vehicle noticed the truck and thought it looked suspicious. (Credit: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)

Two individuals from Oregon were arrested in a fake fire engine while allegedly pretending to be firefighters, California police officials said.

The fire engine was stopped while trying to enter an evacuation zone after a Los Angeles patrol vehicle noticed the truck and thought it looked suspicious, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The two told deputies that they were from the "Roaring River Fire Department" in Oregon. They were reportedly wearing turnout gear, or the protective gear firefighters wear when responding to fires, and CAL-fire T-shirts under the gear.

Deputies did some digging and discovered that the department the individuals said they were from did not actually exist, and that the fire engine had been purchased at auction.

Dustin Nehl, 31, and Jennifer Nehl, 44, were arrested for impersonating a firefighter and entering an evacuation zone. While neither have a criminal history in California, Nehl has a criminal history in Oregon for criminal mischief and arson, according to LASD.

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