Thousands in equipment stolen from out-of-town electrician

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Electricians and power line workers really have been the unsung heroes following Hurricane Irma.

But Thursday morning, one of those tireless workers woke up to find his equipment stolen.

Colm Corrigan says thousands of dollars’ worth of tools had been ripped off from his truck while it was parked at a hotel in Brandon.

The theft amounted to two major setbacks for Corrigan and his crew. First is the loss of a lot of expensive equipment, but second, the important work being done with those tools has been halted.

The theft happened sometime overnight Wednesday into Thursday. Corrigan is from Chicago but he’s here working with Florida Lighting Maintenance to restore power to gas stations and other businesses.

Corrigan says he woke up in the morning at his hotel to realize someone cut the locks on his truck and stole the equipment inside.

Missing are items like drills, chainsaws, and other tools; almost $15,000 worth of stuff.

It’s definitely a dark spot on what he says has otherwise been a gratifying job.

“It’s annoying more than anything else,” Corrigan said. “All you’ve done is cost us time and money and aggravation and prevent us from restoring power to people that need [it].”

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft. No arrests have been made at this point. Florida Lighting Maintenance is offering a $1,000 reward for information that leads to one.