Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, February 14, 1994 TAG: 9402140087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Emergency workers at the scene carried the patient to safety. No one inside the burning van was injured by the fire.
David Bishop, a paramedic supervisor who was following behind the ambulance in another emergency vehicle, said he saw sparks flying from underneath the van. Bishop said he radioed the crew inside the ambulance to pull off the road and then called for another ambulance to take the patient to Roanoke Memorial.
"We tried to extinguish the flames [before firefighters arrived], but it was ineffective," Bishop said.
The woman, whose name was not released, was quickly transferred to another ambulance and taken to the hospital, Bishop said.
The woman died later Sunday from causes unrelated to the fire, a hospital supervisor said.
Wanda Reed, manager of Roanoke Emergency Medical Services, said the woman was in full cardiac arrest when medical personnel arrived at her Northwest Roanoke home.
The ambulance that caught fire - a 1984 E350 Ford - was one of the models recalled several times for repairs after former Attorney General Mary Sue Terry spearheaded a national drive in 1988 to have Ford correct design flaws, Reed said.
Capt. Richard Troutt of Roanoke Fire Station 6 said investigators believe Sunday's fire started when part of the ambulance's front drive shaft came loose and began dragging on the pavement, creating sparks. The fire was ignited when the van's fuel line broke, Troutt said.
Reed said it was not known if the fire can be tied to any of the recalls, and an insurance investigator was contacted Sunday about the incident. The ambulance was a four-wheel drive used sparingly - usually during inclement weather, Reed said. Two of the Ford vans in the recall class are used by Roanoke EMS.
Ford recalled ambulances built between 1983 and 1987 on E250 and E350 chassis for replacement of engine heater hoses and other parts linked to fires in some of the vehicles.
Ken Harper, operations manager for Roanoke EMS, said the ambulance that caught fire Sunday was taken to have recall work done several times.
"We were told it was safe to drive," he said. "We never had a problem with [the ambulances] to start with, and I don't know of any that had recall work done that have caught on fire."
by CNB