A Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District F-250 truck was briefly stolen Saturday afternoon, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed on Monday. 

The vehicle theft occurred near or at the district’s Carpinteria Station at 911 Walnut Ave. just before 2 p.m., per emergency radio traffic.

Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Raquel Zick said the vehicle was recovered “within minutes” at nearby Palm and Carpinteria avenues. 

The stolen vehicle suspect was caught and removed from the vehicle by members of the Carpinteria Station, according to emergency radio traffic. 

A fire department spokesperson declined to comment on the incident.  

The suspect, identified by the Sheriff’s Office as 59-year-old Frank Edward Peralta of Valencia, was arrested and booked into jail custody on Saturday on suspicion of taking an emergency vehicle. 

Peralta remained in jail on a $30,000 bail as of Monday morning. 

— Noozhawk South County editor Evelyn Spence can be reached at espence@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.