St John staff were responding to a priority call when they realised the tyres on their ambulance had been slashed, police say.
An appeal has been made by police after a second incident in less than two months, where somebody has broken into a St John base and slashed the tyres of ambulances parked there.
The latest incident was reported in Auckland St John's Ōtāhuhu Station on Atkinson Ave on April 9.
It follows a similar incident at the Manukau Station on February 28, where the offenders broke in and slashed five tyres on three ambulances.
“In both events, an offender has illegally gained access to the stations’ compounds before slashing tyres of ambulances parked there,” Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Hayward said.
Six ambulances had their tyres slashed, and investigators were "keeping an open mind" as to whether they were linked.
Police said staff at the Manukau station only noticed the damage to their vehicle while responding to a priority incident.
“This sort of offending is extremely reckless, given the ambulances were rendered inoperable," Hayward said
"It’s thoughtless and risks the lives of anyone who required urgent medical care during the period that ambulances were out of action."
Hato Hone St John acting Auckland district operations manager Angela Jardine said damaging ambulances was "serious and unacceptable" and directly affected the community.
“Ambulances are a critical part of the emergency response system.
“When vehicles are taken out of service, it has the potential to delay care for patients who need urgent medical help."
She said the damaged ambulances were "incredibly frustrating".
Both St John and police urged anyone with information about the break-ins and subsequent slashings to come forward.
“There will be people in the community who know who is responsible, and they need to do the right thing and come forward,” Hayward said.
Those with information were asked to call police on 105.
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