The Seattle Fire Department said Wednesday it will not warn any apartment buildings, condo buildings or businesses unless police confirm two break-ins were indeed because of compromised Knox boxes.
The fire department is supposed to be the only one that can access the emergency lock boxes, which contain codes, fobs or keys specifically assigned to Seattle fire. They can also contain things like keys to a building’s office.
The fire department estimates there are about 4,000 Knox boxes at buildings across the city.
Surveillance video from a Seattle apartment building on March 30 and a Seattle condo building on June 3 show a man and woman moving around, stealing packages and other items.
Employees at both say the thieves used fobs or codes specifically assigned to the Seattle Fire Department, stored inside each building’s Knox box. They said they checked the electronic logs for the building and matched up the use of the codes to the thieves’ appearance on camera.