BUCODA, Wash. -- A man training as a fire department cadet put an entire community at risk by stealing the only ambulance in the small town of Bucoda and crashing it, police said.

The 18-year-old had been drinking when he broke into the fire department and climbed into the town’s only ambulance and took off for a joy ride, police said.

"He was talking about going joy riding, but I thought he was just going to take my bike" said the cadet’s roommate Jesse Burnett.

Burnett said he didn't know his friend was going to steal the ambulance early Saturday morning.

The cadet drove the ambulance with its emergency lights on out of Bucoda, a town 20 miles south of Olympia, where he then crashed it into a ditch and tree, police said.

"He was kind of drunk and messed up and he knows he ruined his career with the fire department," Burnett said.

The totaled ambulance is the only aid unit in town, said Bucoda’s mayor Kathy Martin.

With no ambulance to carry it -- life-saving equipment sits on the floor. A fire engine now responds to aid calls but, it cannot transport people to the hospital. They'll have to call an ambulance from another town.

“It takes anywhere from five to 15 to 20 minutes for a medic unit," Martin said.

"If somebody's got a serious medical condition it could possibly be life-threatening for them," said Bucoda resident Dan Wilson.

Deputies said the cadet will likely face a number of felony charges, including theft and burglary.

Bucoda officials said insurance will not cover the replacement cost of the ambulance. They hope to see if another department might be able to loan them an older aid unit for awhile.