Sheriff: Firefighter impersonator likely involved in burglary of elderly Enumclaw woman

ENUMCLAW, Wash. -- A 93-year-old Enumclaw woman was burglarized, likely with the help of a man impersonating a firefighter, the King County Sheriff's Office said Thursday.

The victim reported on Tuesday that some of her property was stolen from her garage. She then remembered that she had been visited the day before by a man wearing yellow work clothes and carrying a clipboard who said he was checking on fire hazards inside her home.

The clothes he wore, and his fire safety ruse, led investigators to believe that he was impersonating a firefighter, the sheriff's office said.

The victim said she allowed the man inside her house. He looked around, checked her appliances and said everything appeared OK, she told investigators.

"We believe that the man may have acted to distract the victim while one or more accomplices stole items from inside the woman’s garage," the sheriff's office said in a news release.

The King County Sheriff’s Office said residents should call 911 if somebody appears to be impersonating a firefighter doing unscheduled safety checks at their house.