DAVIDSON COUNTY, N.C. – The Tyro Fire Department is always alert and ready for when they receive the call for help.

Nowadays, crews worry when they pull up to a hydrant to fight the flames.

“Something like that is going to hinder us, but it’s not going to stop us,” Captain Michael Everhart said.

Everhart said he’s seen multiple fire hydrants throughout the district with no caps on them.

Davidson County officials say a total of 15 caps have gone missing in the past two weeks. Some of them vanished on Swicegood Road.

“We’ve seen them on Lamb Road,” Everhart said. “If I’m not mistaken we’ve seen them on Koontz Road area.”

Those caps help the flow of water when hoses are hooked up.

Everhart says when more than one is missing, crews have to find something to plug the holes.

“It makes things a little bit more difficult,” Everhart said.

He said it’s chaos when all three caps disappear. Everhart said this slows down their firefight when minutes count.

“We’re going to have to find something to cap the other side of that hydrant or we’re going to find another hydrant,” Everhart said.

These stolen caps also worry Chief Deputy Terry Whitman with the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office.

They put a notice on their Facebook page warning the public.

“I just hope the people be aware of what’s going on because we just don’t want any other potential of uses of those things. Right now, it’s mailboxes we just don’t want it to get any further,” Whitman said.

His biggest fear is people throwing the caps off bridges to hit cars or even worse. Everhart said despite what’s missing, crews still show up when called upon.

“Whether it be to save someone’s property or save someone’s life,” Everhart said.