An urgent examination is under way after two HSE ambulances went on fire over the last week.
The HSE said a new community paramedic response ambulance, awaiting entry to service, caught fire in a vehicle commissioning facility in Tullamore, Co Offaly on Thursday.
It said a recently-commissioned emergency ambulance was destroyed in a blaze while parked adjacent to Castlebar ambulance station in Co Mayo early last Saturday.
The HSE said neither vehicle was in use at the time of the fires and no patients or staff were injured.
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“While the two vehicles affected are different makes, models, and types, an initial technical examination has identified a possible issue, which is now being urgently explored in further detail with vehicle suppliers,” it said in a statement on Friday.
In line with health and safety requirements, all staff on duty had been alerted to the two incidents, it added.
The HSE said staff have been advised to remain vigilant and reminded of fire safety, vehicle evacuation and incident reporting procedures.
It said services operated by the National Ambulance Service (NAS) for the public were “unaffected by the current precautionary measures, which will remain under constant review”. The NAS currently has 437 patient-carrying vehicles, including emergency and critical care ambulances and intermediate care vehicles.
The HSE said all NAS vehicles were subject to a crew inspection at the commencement of each shift, as well as a safety inspection every eight weeks.
It said all vehicles were constructed in line with the relevant national and EU standards, were serviced and maintained in line with manufacturers’ guidelines, and replaced at five years or after covering 350,000km, in line with the NAS fleet replacement policy.
“A serious incident management team has been established, and both incidents are being managed in line with the HSE’s incident management framework,” it added.
A HSE internal audit of the national ambulance fleet last year found the budget allocation for last year was 50 per cent deficient in terms of the funding needs of the service.
It identified that some emergency ambulances were being kept in service outside the recommended usage of five years, with 66 ambulances listed as five or six years old.
