The only ambulance on Shaw Island, of the San Juan Islands in Washington state, burned up Tuesday night while EMS workers held a training drill.
The ambulance was parked outside the community building and was left running, as usual, while EMS workers met inside, said Fire Chief Brud Joslin. "A short time after the meeting started, about 10 or 15 minutes, they looked out and could see flames," Joslin said.
Joslin said the vehicle's muffler had blown out earlier that day, but despite the extra noise, the vehicle seemed fine. He said the local fire marshal determined that the fire was caused by heat coming out of the muffler or a spark from the engine, which ignited the ambulance's rubber undercoating. "It got going quite well," he said. "The thing burned to the ground."
In addition, the fascia on the building, a large overhanging roof area, was charred and the poles holding it up may need replacement. Luckily the burning ambulance was parked about eight feet away from the fascia, or the flames might have claimed the building as well, Joslin said.
The chief said he missed the fire because his pager wasn't working, but every other firefighter on the island responded using the department's 750 gallon pumper and a brush truck. They got the fire knocked down twice but each time ran out of water and had to refill from a nearby pond. Joslin said the department also has a foam unit they might have chosen to use, except that it hasn't been operational lately.
The next day, a local fire commissioner called around to look for an afforadable replacement ambulance.
"By about 4 o'clock that afternoon he had about half a dozen offers," Joslin said. On Thursday they went to the city of Auburn, Washington, where rescue officials sold Shaw Island a spare ambulance for a dollar.
"We were pretty amazed at the response," Joslin said. "You can't beat a dollar really."
Joslin said the equipment inside the ambulance, some of which was new, was also destroyed Tuesday, and they expect the replacement cost to be several thousand dollars, which they hope will be covered by insurance.
"We don't have a huge budget so it's quite a major loss," Joslin said.
Shaw Fire, offically known as San Juan County Fire District #5, is a volunteer department with about 15 members. The island has 160 full time residents and is about 5 miles long and three wide. It is the smallest of the four San Juan Islands that receive ferry service.
