SEATTLE – Two gas thieves caused major damage Sunday while attempting to siphon gas from truck in North Seattle. Police are now investigating along with the Fire Marshal.

Video surveillance obtained by FOX 13 Seattle shows two men attempting to steal gas from a truck on Aurora Avenue N. near N. 107th Street.

“They were clearly stealing gas for whatever reason,” said Russ Saunders. “This isn’t the first time people have taken gas.”

But it is the first time a fleet vehicle belonging to Saunders’ family-owned business has gone up in flames.

“It was a huge fireball that exploded on people,” said Saunders. “They drove off in a vehicle that was on fire.”

Saunders is a second-generation owner of Handy Andy Rent-A-Tool.

“We’ve been here since the 80s,” he told FOX 13 Seattle.

Sunday’s truck explosion set the business back $50,000.

“One truck, the interior wall is badly damaged,” said Saunders. “That’ll cost $10,000 just to replace it, if I replace it. The other truck — it’s a complete loss.”

Footage from multiple security cameras show two men pull up in a work truck.

“We learned it was also stolen from another company,” said Saunders. “They literally drove away on fire.”

According to police, that vehicle was later found abandoned.

“What happened Sunday was just the tail end of everything,” said Saunders. “In an eight-day period this month, I was burglarized, I lost $10,000 worth of equipment, and I’ve had five trucks stolen. Now this.”

He told FOX 13 Seattle crime on Aurora Avenue has gotten out of control.

“It’s like the criminals know they can get away with things,” said Saunders. “Unfortunately, without the necessary police to come out and patrol this area, the criminals are running amok.”

Saunders, along with a handful of other business owners, are hoping Seattle’s recent approval of video surveillance cameras will help police track down criminals. He’s looking forward to camera installation along Aurora Avenue.

“I see it as another tool,” he said. “Hopefully that’ll help them when they’re trying to connect the criminals to the crimes, and it can help them get out and respond faster.”

Seattle Police have not made any arrests in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call the non-emergency number at (206) 625-5011. The case number is 24-283634.

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Some Seattle police officers have received paychecks with half their pay missing. Others received checks missing overtime pay they’ve worked or they were paid the wrong overtime rates and may have to pay money back to the city.

Those payroll issues are just a few described to MyNorthwest first reported by KTTH’s Jason Rantz. Seattle police officers who shared details on the condition of anonymity. At least one of those officers described the issue as “a major pain” and added that it has resulted in low morale among the ranks and file in a department already dealing with limited resources and an officer shortage.

The officers say the issue started two years ago when the city leaders switched to the software payroll system, Workday. The officers claim the city negotiated with Workday without fully understanding the police department’s payroll nuances, including how to record 10-hour shifts and part-time and overtime pay correctly. And, they say, when SPD leadership brought those concerns to city leaders, the city moved ahead with the new payroll system anyway.

Rantz Exclusive: Mayor’s office ignored warnings about payroll system, now Seattle Police missing pay

One officer told MyNothwest that vacation and sick time accruals are also inaccurate. Also, according to the officers, money from SPD’s deferred compensation plans, which allow officers to set aside money to be paid at a later day, is correctly being taken from paychecks but, in some cases, is not being deposited into individual accounts. The result is that officers potentially default on loans from creditors.

The officers who alerted us about the issues say the Seattle Police Officers Guild is looking into hiring accountants to help officers who are impacted. The guild did not respond at the time of publishing.

We also reached out to SPD for official comment. A spokesperson deferred us to city leaders, including Mayor Bruce Harrell. The mayor and other city leaders did not respond at the time of publication.

Luke Duecy is a reporter, editor and anchor at KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of Luke’s stories here.
Follow Luke on X, or email him here.

The Seattle Kraken opened up the NHL season on Tuesday afternoon with a 3-2 loss against the St. Louis Blues at Climate Pledge Arena.

Due to an odd Opening Day scheduling quirk, the Kraken began the weekday contest at 1:30 p.m. PT.

Despite the loss and the different start time, it was fun to see Seattle Mariners star Cal Raleigh in attendance. You can see the picture of Raleigh in a booth below, courtesy of Circling Seattle Sports.

Since arriving in Seattle, Raleigh has continued to make himself a bigger and bigger part of the Seattle community. In fact, in a recent episode of the “Refuse to Lose” podcast, Raleigh’s father told us how much he loves the Pacific Northwest and how he’s grown into a leadership role. You can listen to that here.

Raleigh has also raised the “12th Man” flag at a Seattle Seahawks game in the past.

One of the best power hitters in all of baseball, Raleigh led all catchers in home runs this season with 34. He also posted 100 RBI. He’s in position to potentially win a Silver Slugger Award this season, and he also could end up winning a Gold Glove as well.

Despite Raleigh’s best efforts, the Mariners missed the playoffs by 1.0 game. At 85-77, it’s the second straight year that Seattle has missed the playoffs by that little margin.

The Mariners will now try to spend the offseason trying to figure out how to get back into postseason play for the first time since 2022.

Continue to follow our Inside the Mariners coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following Teren Kowatsch and Brady Farkas on “X” @Teren_Kowatsch and @wdevradiobrady. You can subscribe to the “Refuse to Lose” podcast by clicking HERE: