Port Alberni RCMP want to notify the public that thieves are targeting homes heated by oil.
On Dec. 9, 2017, RCMP were advised of a theft of heating oil from a home in the 3500 block of 6th Avenue.
The senior resident had noticed that their home started getting cold the day before and thought there may be a problem with the heating system. Help came the next day, only to find that a small piece of copper line from the oil tank into the house had been cut and stolen and that a small valve allowed the oil to be drained easily. Several hundred litres of oil had been stolen from the senior.
It appears that suspects also tried syphoning heating oil from a residence in the 4500 block of Redford Street.
According to a local business dealing in heating oil tanks, it is recommended that home owners secure their oil tanks with a lock on the cap. Owners can also secure their investment in their heating oil by changing the weaker cooper line with a hydraulic hose, as well as building a secure box covering the hose or line from the tank to the house.