Diesel Ambulance Shuts Down Due to EPA Regs While Victim Dies

[Red Horse]

I guess the verdict isn't in yet. It would be nice to know what kind of ambulance it was. Looks like a 5 year old Ford in the article.

Right looks like a 10 year old Ford. And be it 5 or 10 it did not have a regeneration system--I think its safe to say "Ambulance 19" was not a Ford. If you view the video, the only thing you see are Internationals in the footage. One shot shows the body with the "19" on it and you get a glimpse of ther rear view mirror bracket. I would say International for sure. My bet would also be that the driver was not paying attention to the idiot lights on the truck before it went into shutdown.

 

[crazyal]

What really sucks is that the mother of this fine upstanding citizen will now sue both the ambulance company and Ford while showing pictures of an 8 year old that makes him look like a little angle.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Yeah- lots of facts are missing in the story. There was definitely a malfunction of some sort. I am more of a GM guy than a Ford guy (if this is even a Ford), but I can't believe that Ford would manufacture/sell a vehicle that would likely stop unexpectedly in the middle of a drive. If this regeneration was required within a certain 5-600 miles- it seems like the engineers could have designed it to happen before the driver could refuel (the fuel door wouldn't open until the regeneration took place).

No. Doesnt work that way. It WILL shut down. RV guys are all upset over this..

 

[Midniteoyl]

i agree.. in critial service vehicles ( airplanes, military vehicles, emergency services ).. there should not be a forced shutdown without the ability to manually overide for a &^%$ emissions control circuit...

I'm glad I drive an OLD diesel... don't need pee in a tank to drive it.

that's like a second fuel tank.

cost of driving goes UP... mmmm sign me up

In May 2012, after many complaints from other fire departments all around the country, the EPA issued a directive waiving the diesel emissions rules for fire engines and ambulances. Why DC didnt know this, I dont know.

 

[Scooby074]

What really sucks is that the mother of this fine upstanding citizen will now sue both the ambulance company and Ford while showing pictures of an 8 year old that makes him look like a little angle.

Unfortunately this.

Worse is, with the right jury she'll end up with millions, because her son decided to shoot at some cops. He likely wouldnt have lived even if he had made it to hospital.

 

[some zilch]

I know that fire truck engines will not shut down even if all power is removed they cant run the risk of stopping the pumps with fire fighters at the end of the line relying on a water supply.

not sure where you got that info from, but as a former mechanic for a large municipality; I can tell you that any "modern" fire truck has the same electronic engine controls that any other truck using that engine would have. they may be "tuned" a bit different given the application, but there is absolutely no way "all power can be removed" and they keep on running. they shut down immediately. you don't see many trucks any more that are still using mechanical engines, much less fire trucks unless they are back-ups, or used by small/rural entities. I don't think many large/modern municipalities are using anything older than a 10 years, and they are loaded with electronic controls.

on topic, and as previously stated, in a past life I was a municipal equipment mechanic. our ambulance drivers, while good at saving lives, were abusive/unattentive/careless when it came to the vehicle itself. they did things to those ambulances they would never do to their own cars. I could completely see them ignoring lights/alarms, as there would be no repercussions (union).

a friend of mine drives a snowplow for the state. his 2011 mack has the regen stuff on it, and he has to pull over frequently while out plowing a major highway to let the truck regen and shutdown and cool off. its absurd.

 

[Ken45101]

Mechanical things do fail. I've had both left dual tires suddenly blow out while transporting a possible heart attack patient to the hospital.

That said, it sounds like there is either a problem with the warning system, or the driver ignoring it.

A 5-7 minute delay for another unit sounds like very good time. It would be rare around here to get a backup unit that fast. I think it took around 20-25 minutes for a Cincinnati FD unit to show up when I had the blow out.

 

[Ken45101]

i've heard of police cruisers designed to run x many more miles AFTER loss of engine coolant.

^^^ That, I believe, would be impossible. Engines HAVE to be cooled, period. Police cars are using standard engines.

Maybe you are thinking of fire trucks where there is a valve to feed fire pump water into the engine for emergency coolant.

 

[Midniteoyl]

Or a Slick 50 commercial

 

[Soundguy]

^^^ That, I believe, would be impossible. Engines HAVE to be cooled, period. Police cars are using standard engines.

Maybe you are thinking of fire trucks where there is a valve to feed fire pump water into the engine for emergency coolant.

it was on the advertisement page of our local city paper when we were buying new cruisers. that was one of the touted 'improvement's we the tax payers were paying for.... this is withi.. say.. the last few months...