SAN BRUNO — A former San Bruno firefighter was arrested Monday on suspicion of stealing thousands of dollars from a bank account that supports an annual toy drive for thousands of disadvantaged youths, authorities said.

Holly Kaye Nelson, 53, of Cloverdale, is charged with two counts of felony grand theft.

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Redwood City: Hit-and-run leaves pedestrian on life support In a statement Tuesday, the San Bruno Professional Firefighters Association said it discovered discrepancies in its toy drive account in December and eventually learned $25,000 was missing.

The funds were donated by the public, according to the association.

The association said it also uncovered checks made payable to Nelson, the sole overseer of the account for 10 years, as well as ATM withdrawals by Nelson from the account.

The information was turned over to San Bruno police, which concluded through its own investigation that Nelson had taken $25,000 from the account over a two-year period.

A warrant was issued for Nelson’s arrest and she was taken into custody on Monday, according to police.

Nelson resigned from the San Bruno Fire Department in October, prior to the investigation. According to Transparent California, she received $220,019 in total pay and benefits in 2015.

The association said the nearly 15-year-old toy drive will continue, but with new safeguards in place.

“Although we are both shocked and saddened by the situation, we will not let it stop us from moving forward,” the association said. “We have taken numerous steps to ensure nothing like this ever happens again, including updating our policies and procedures to require greater oversight and accountability when handling and managing funds.”

The toy drive is an “extremely worthwhile program” that serves disadvantaged youths, police said in a news release.

“The transparency, cooperation and timeliness of reporting by the association were key factors in bringing this investigation to a swift and successful completion,” police said.