At roughly 3:50 on the morning of August 25, 2026, troopers rolled out to assist Dalton Fire & Rescue with a fully involved house fire near Faraway Road and Mountain Road in Dalton, New Hampshire. Mutual-aid crews were on scene, hoses were charged, and the firefight was on.
That's when the homeowner, Nestor Roman II, 30, allegedly decided the firefighters were the problem. As crews battled the blaze, Roman climbed into Whitefield Fire & Rescue's F550 rescue truck and drove off with it shortly before 5 a.m.
He didn't get far without making an impression. The fire department says he drove around Whitefield's E3 engine, nearly struck two firefighters, and narrowly missed a third who could have been pinned between the two trucks. Then he rammed the E3 and a small pickup while forcing his way onto the road, and drove over multiple water supply lines — two charged hoses the crews were actively using to fight the fire. He kept going down the road, striking a firefighter's personal vehicle and smashing through wooden fences at two properties.
The escape ended several miles away, where a Dalton homeowner called police to report the stolen truck had crashed on their property — and that the suspect was trying to take items off the porch. Troopers found Roman there and, despite his being uncooperative, took him into custody.
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Roman was arrested on a laundry list of charges: three felony counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon (in New Hampshire, a vehicle driven dangerously counts), burglary, felony theft by unauthorized taking, obstructing government administration, four counts of conduct after an accident, resisting arrest and detention, and driving after suspension.
The underlying reporting is filed in the Evidence Locker: Fox News (2026-08-28), New York Post (2026-08-28), Insurance Journal (2026-08-28).
