Authorities: Man escaped from Calif. prison in fire truck New Year's Day

(CBS/KFMB) SAN DIEGO - Police in San Diego are on the hunt for a prisoner who they say escaped from a state prison on New Year's Day in a fire truck.

Thomas Francis Kelley, 51, worked as a prison firefighter, reports CBS affiliate KFMB. He was being held in the minimum security section of the prison for a parole violation stemming from a 2008 car theft conviction, according to Lt. Patrick Logan, an information officer at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility.

Kelley was scheduled to be released in December 2013, Logan said.

Prison guards said Kelley failed to appear for a head count about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, about the time sheriff's deputies saw a fire engine being driven inexpertly in Spring Valley, 10 miles away from the border-close prison, reports KFMB. The driver reportedly jumped out and ran when a deputy tried to stop the vehicle.

Sheriff's Lt. David Gilmore said the fire engine was found unoccupied at a 7-Eleven in Spring Valley, KFMB reports.

Kelley is white, about 5 feet 10 inches and 160 pounds, with brown and eyes.