Fires that broke out within days of each other in two new ambulances operated by the HSE may have been linked to problems in the auxiliary battery systems in the vehicles, an inspection has found.
On Tuesday, the HSE said the affected vehicles had been inspected and reminders on vehicle safety checks had been issued to operational staff.
All National Ambulance Service (NAS) vehicles remain available for service.
An urgent inspection by technical experts identified a potential issue involving auxiliary battery systems “in a limited subset” of NAS vehicles.
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Last month, two ambulances operated by the NAS caught fire. One was destroyed in Castlebar, Co Mayo. The other fire happened in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
The HSE said all necessary safety inspections into the two vehicles had now been completed.
“These incidents involved one emergency ambulance and one community paramedic response vehicle, both of which were unoccupied at the time and resulted in no injuries,” it said.
“Following an urgent assessment by technical experts, a potential issue involving auxiliary battery systems was identified in a limited subset of NAS vehicles.
“As a precaution, a comprehensive inspection programme was immediately undertaken in collaboration with vehicle and subsystem suppliers.”
The HSE said the ambulance service was fully committed to safety and would continue to monitor this issue.
The Irish Times reported last Saturday how the two vehicles that caught fire were different makes, models and types, but an initial technical examination had “identified a possible issue”.
Following the incidents , the HSE established a serious incident management team to look at the issue.
It said at the time that a recently commissioned emergency ambulance was destroyed by fire while parked adjacent to the ambulance station in Castlebar in the early hours of June 21st.
Then last Thursday, a new community paramedic response vehicle awaiting entry to service went on fire in a commissioning facility in Tullamore.
“Neither vehicle was in use at the time, no patients were affected and no staff were injured,” the HSE said.
