Ambulance smell not due to fire, says HSE

AN UNUSUAL odour, which caused an ambulance transferring a patient from Cork to Dublin to be abandoned en route, was not caused by a fire, the Health Service Executive (HSE) has said.

The patient was transferred to another ambulance about one hour into the journey last Tuesday, after a member of the ambulance crew noticed a strange smell coming from the front of the Mercedes Benz vehicle.

Although the HSE does not publicly comment on individual cases, it is understood the patient was not a baby, contrary to radio reports yesterday.

The incident follows three fires aboard Mercedes Benz ambulances – which make up some of half of the fleet of Irish ambulances – in the last two months.

In the most recent incident two weeks ago, an ambulance crew was returning to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, when their vehicle burst into flames and was destroyed. The crew escaped uninjured.

Last month, another ambulance caught fire at the K-Club in Co Kildare.

Another ambulance en route to a Dublin hospital also caught fire in the last two months.

Following these incidents, the HSE appointed an independent forensic engineer to investigate the cause. An inspection of the relevant section of the ambulance fleet, around 140 vehicles, was carried out by Mercedes Benz and modifications recommended by the engine manufacturer were carried out, the HSE said in a statement last night.

“In relation to the three fire incidence, the HSE would stress that we have been assured by the engine manufacturer – Mercedes Benz – that the measures they recommended, and which have been implemented, have addressed the risk of fire.”

However, the HSE said that investigations to establish the root cause of the engine problem were not yet complete. The problem with the vehicles had not resulted in any reduction in ambulance services, the statement said.

“Although the HSE has been engaged in contingency planning on an ongoing basis since this issue arose, at no stage to date has there been any withdrawal of ambulances. The emergency service has not been reduced as a result.”