Analysis Finds Patrol Car Shield Didn’t Do Its Job
By Jason Trahan, The Dallas Morning News
One moment, Officer Guadalupe Ortega was sitting in her squad car, about to clear her last call of the evening.
In a flash, her Crown Victoria patrol car was crushed, compacted so that she was in the back seat. Shards of window glass swirled around her like snow. She tried to move but couldn’t. I’m trapped, she thought.
Then she smelled gasoline.
“That’s what made me think of Pat,” said Officer Ortega, referring to colleague Patrick Metzler. The 31-year-old officer died from smoke inhalation and burns in 2002 when his Crown Victoria patrol car exploded after it was struck from behind in the High Five construction area.
Officer Ortega’s car did not ignite. But city officials don’t credit the fuel tank shield, which the city installed last year on all its patrol cars after Ford recommended it to cut down on fuel tank fires.
An analysis of her crash, released Thursday by Dallas city officials, shows that a bracket holding the fuel tank to the car caused a puncture, allowing nearly all the fuel to leak out. A ruptured valve also leaked gas.
“Call it sheer luck -- or a miracle, if you will -- but that night there was no spark to ignite the fuel,” City Attorney Madeleine Johnson said. “The next accident could be different.”
While Ford has not analyzed the data from that crash, a company spokeswoman said the shields are designed to minimize punctures -- not prevent them. Since police departments began buying the cars, 18 officers have died when their Crown Victoria patrol cars burst into flames after being hit from behind.
“There is so much damage done in a crash at 70 mph or 80 mph,” said Ford’s Kristen Kinley. “In our testing, the shields did what they were supposed to do, which is reduce the likelihood of a puncture. In a high-speed crash, the fuel tank is compressed, and the fuel has to go somewhere.”
But Ms. Johnson said the shield is just the latest fix recommended by Ford that falls short of protecting officers. That’s why she said Thursday that she is recommending the City Council approve spending $271,000 to outfit Dallas’ 775 Crown Victorias with technology developed by an Arizona company called FIRE Panel.
The panels, which are filled with fire-suppressing powder similar to what is inside a fire extinguisher, are attached to the rear of the fuel tanks. In a rear-end crash, the panel is designed to rupture, allowing the powder to keep leaking fuel from catching fire.
If approved by council members March 24, installation would begin days later and be complete by late April, Ms. Johnson said.
About 100 police departments have purchased the FIRE Panel system so far, said Bill Eckholm, president of FIRE Panel LLC based on Scottsdale, Ariz. Locally, Mesquite has purchased panels.
In addition, the company has placed the system in a “number” of NASCAR racers, Mr. Eckholm said.
Last August, Ford announced its own system that company officials said is more effective in preventing fires. Their system, which debuts with 2005 Crown Victoria models, waits until the car comes to rest after impact before spraying a liquid fire suppressant.
Ms. Kinley said Ford tested FIRE Panel and found it lacking.
“FIRE Panel deploys at the point of impact,” she said. “In our testing, we’ve found that the fire is ignited not at the point of impact, but at the point of rest. Our system gives the officer time to get away.”
She also said wind and rain reduce the effectiveness of the powder.
Mr. Eckholm said he disagrees with Ford’s conclusions. “But we have great empathy for Ford. At the end of the day, all we’re trying to do is make an already good police car better.”
Ms. Johnson said improvements to next year’s Crown Victoria models leave officers now patrolling in older models in harm’s way. Ford has said it cannot retrofit its new suppression system in old cars.
Ms. Johnson said the city is asking that Ford offer reimbursement for the cost of the FIRE Panel technology, which amounts to about $350 per patrol car.
“If they don’t want to pay, we’ll be filing a lawsuit,” she said.
Sr. Cpl. Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association, lauded the city’s efforts Thursday.
“This city has got to do something to make us feel safer in these cars,” he said. “The fact that Ford is developing its own fire suppression technology tells me that they know there’s a problem.”
Also on Thursday, Ms. Johnson reiterated Dallas’ pledge to buy no new Crown Victorias until safety concerns are met. Instead, the city has bought approximately 80 new Dodge Intrepid patrol cars, which will be introduced into the fleet as older cars need replacing, police officials confirmed Thursday.
Officer Ortega -- recovering at her McKinney home from a broken neck suffered that night last month -- said she’s satisfied with the Crown Victoria cruisers. She just hopes that others rear-ended in one are as lucky as she was.
“I hope those panels work,” said the 42-year-old officer, who joined the Dallas force in April 2002. “No one else needs one of these close calls.”