The crew hurried out of their North York station one summer day in August after receiving a call about a fire at a nearby building. The firefighters quickly arrived at the site of the call, only to find out it had been a hoax.

There was no fire in the building.

When they returned to the station, they discovered they were missing cellphones, watches, jewelry, credit cards and iPads.

“They were upset that somebody had gone through their things and taken (stuff),” said Toronto fire union chief Frank Ramagnano. “It’s extremely unfortunate.”

The culprit? One of the firefighters’ own colleagues, Toronto police allege.

Veteran Toronto firefighter Joshua Pittarelli-Bucks was charged Aug. 22 with three counts of break-and-enter, false alarm of fire, public mischief and possession of crack cocaine, court documents show.

“The allegations are he called in a fake fire and broke into the fire hall while the firefighters were out; and he broke into another firehall,” Toronto police spokesperson Victor Kwong told the Star in an email.

The first alleged break-in was July 14 at station 123 at Bond Ave. and Don Mills Rd. in North York. The second was at the same station on Aug. 21 and the third was the following day at station 132 at Bathurst St. and Lawrence Ave, court documents show.

On one of the occasions, the district chief had returned to the fire station earlier than the rest of the crew once they determined they received a fake fire call.

“Because he returned earlier, he caught the person in the act of leaving the station,” Ramagnano said.

Numerous attempts by the Star to reach Pittarelli-Bucks, including through his lawyer, have been unsuccessful.

He is due back in a Toronto court on the charges related to the fire hall break-ins and the possession charge Feb. 9.

Bail documents from early September show Pittarelli-Bucks was ordered to reside with a surety and attend a residential treatment centre. He was also ordered not to attend any fire hall in Toronto as part of his bail conditions.

Pittarelli-Bucks, 36, has been with the Toronto fire department since 2006 and was last assigned to station 245 near Ellesmere and Birchmount Rds. in Scarborough.

He was on leave at the time of the alleged break-ins and remains on leave today, according to Ramagnano.

Pittarrelli-Bucks is also facing charges of assault and uttering threats in Newmarket.

York Regional Police say Pittarelli-Bucks was arrested a month earlier, on July 24, 2016, following a confrontation.

Police allege Pittarelli-Bucks and a family member were driving at a high rate of speed in a residential neighbourhood in Markham when their vehicle went over a speed bump and rounded a corner, causing its tires to squeal.

Three people walking down the street were “looking at the driver as if ‘why are you driving like that?’” which led to a confrontation, according to York police spokesperson Const. Andy Pattenden.

Pittarelli-Bucks is scheduled to appear in a Newmarket court on March 7 for these charges.

“The City of Toronto takes this matter very seriously,” said City of Toronto spokesperson Wynna Brown in an email to the Star. “We are fully cooperating with Toronto Police Services.”

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Brown said the city would await the outcome of court proceedings before taking further action. A member of the fire union could charge another member with theft under the union’s constitution, but Ramagnano, the union chief, said no one had done so to date.

“Right now they’re letting the process work its way through,” he said, adding that some crew members still have not been able to retrieve their belongings.

“They’re being extremely patient in letting the Canadian legal system deal with it.”