A city firefighter faces charges that he called 911 to falsely report fires, then stole petty cash from his colleagues while they responded to the calls, police said.

Detectives have issued a warrant for Vincent Manzella, 31, on charges of burglary, theft and false alarms.

On three occasions beginning in April, firefighters at the Lawrenceville station, at Penn Avenue and 40th Street, returned from false alarms and found small amounts of cash missing from the station, they told police. They reported that $35 was missing, some of it taken from firefighters' pockets.

Detectives listened to the 911 calls and traced the voice in each to Mr. Manzella, police said. When questioned, he told police he had used a key he had to the station to enter and take the cash, which he said he needed to support a drug habit.