Archive for April 11th, 2024

Fire Service News – Ford SUV recall

Excerpts from abcnews.go.com:

Ford is recalling nearly 43,000 small SUVs because gasoline can leak from the fuel injectors onto hot engine surfaces, increasing the risk of fires. But the recall remedy does not include repairing the fuel leaks.

The recall covers certain Bronco Sport SUVs from the 2022 and 2023 model years, as well as Escape SUVs from 2022. All have 1.5-liter engines.

Ford says in documents filed with U.S. safety regulators that fuel injectors can crack, and gasoline or vapor can accumulate near ignition sources, possibly touching off fires.

Dealers will install a tube to let gasoline flow away from hot surfaces to the ground below the vehicle. They’ll also update engine control software to detect a pressure drop in the fuel injection system. If that happens, the software will disable the high pressure fuel pump, reduce engine power and cut temperatures in the engine compartment, according to documents posted Wednesday on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.

Owners were to be notified by letter starting April 1.

The company says in documents it has reports of five under-hood fires and 14 warranty replacements of fuel injectors, but no reports of crashes or injuries.

In an email, Ford said it is not replacing fuel injectors because it is confident the recall repairs “will prevent the failure from occurring and protect the customer.” The new software also will trigger a dashboard warning light and allow customers to drive to a safe location, stop the vehicle and arrange for service, the company said. NHTSA documents filed by Ford say the problem happens only in about 1% of the SUVs.

The company also said it will extend warranty coverage for cracked fuel injectors, so owners who experience the problem will get replacements. Ford said repairs are already available, and details of the extended warranty will be available in June.

Ford said the recall is an extension of a 2022 recall for the same problem. The repair has already been tested on vehicles involved in the previous recall, and Ford said it’s not aware of any problems.

The company also said it isn’t recommending that the SUVs be parked only outdoors because there’s no evidence that fires happen when vehicles are parked and the engines are off.

In the past, NHTSA has said it does not have legal authority to pre-approve recall fixes. But in a statement Wednesday, the agency said it will “closely track their performance using field data.” The agency said owners who have questions should contact their dealership or Ford.

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Peoria Fire Department news

Excerpts from centralillinoisproud.com:

Peoria firefighters responded to almost 5% more calls in 2023 than in 2022, the department said Wednesday in their annual report. Of the 21,267 calls, nearly 80% were medical in nature. Only 4% or about 851 calls, were fire-related.

Response times, a key point of contention the department has had when it comes to budgetary issues, were less than six minutes for medical calls and about 10 minutes for fires.

Of the fire incidents in 2023, 488 were structure fires, 88 were vehicle fires, 82 were outside rubbish fires, and 67 were natural vegetation fires.

The report also highlighted the city’s effort to investigate the cause of fires. In 2023, more than 153 fires were investigated for possible arson, and of that total, 52 were deemed to be intentionally set. The rest were either accidental or undetermined. Nine remain under investigation.

Peoria’s 12 fire stations are staffed by 185 uniformed personnel with 12 engines, three aerials, five specialty teams, and two certified arson dogs.

As part of their efforts to make the community safer, the fire department helped install 190 smoke detectors and 77 CO detectors across the city last year.

The full report is here.

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