A Vancouver Island woman accused of stealing a truck from fire crews as they battled a blaze is facing criminal charges.

Officials think the woman took the Ford Escape truck about 15 minutes after crews arrived to put out a fire in Campbell River on Monday.

The truck was out of the firefighters’ sight blocking traffic and left running to power emergency vehicle equipment and lights.

RCMP officers tailed the vehicle in the nearby Comox Valley and boxed the driver in not long after the truck was reported stolen.

“Comox detatchment members did a fantastic job getting that vehicle stopped without any further incidents or any harm or damage to any of the people,” said Campbell River RCMP Sgt. Troy Beauregard.

Firefighters and police said the theft was unprecedented.

"I've been in this business over 25 years, I've talked to my colleagues in other parts of the country and nobody's had this happen,” said Campbell River Fire Chief Ian Baikie.

“Certainly the first time I've seen this in 19 years,” Beauregard said.

Officials say the fire rescue service are working on making their vehicles theft-proof.

"The immobilization devices we'll install will allow us to leave them running, remove the keys, lock the vehicle, and leave the vehicle," Campbell said.

The woman was arrested and faces charges of theft over $5,000 and possession of stolen property.

With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos