Infamous ambulance burns inside New Jersey fire & rescue building. Flanders' rig helped extend 'lemon law' to emergency vehicles.
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From DailyRecord.com’s Meghan Dyk:
The ambulance that burst into flames at the Flanders fire and rescue building this morning was the same one that sparked a new law extending the state’s “Lemon Law”’ provisions to emergency vehicles, officials said.
The ambulance, one of the three rigs operated by the Flanders First Aid and Rescue Squad, had just returned from a medical call before it was parked inside the fire house garage at 27 Main St. — then erupted in flames at 10:40 a.m., according to Jeff Paul, spokesman for the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
No one was inside at the time of the fire, but two firefighters from Flanders suffered smoke inhalation battling the flames.
Fire crews from Flanders, Budd Lake and Chester responded to the blaze within minutes after a smoke alarm inside the fire house was activated. The fire was knocked out quickly, said Doug Fenichel, spokesman for the Flanders Fire Department.
Melissa Hackenberg, 22, who lives behind the fire house on Railroad Avenue, said she saw the flames and grabbed a camera and began taking photos of the burning ambulance.
“All I saw was smoke billowing out of the fire house,” Hackenberg said. “I just couldn’t believe the firehouse was on fire. The flames were high, but never shot out of the firehouse. ”
The ambulance, after returning from the medical call, was placed out of service for an issue with its anti-lock braking system and an investigation revealed the fire originated in the area of the ABS within the engine compartment, Paul said.
The rig as a history of electrical issues, according to Mayor David Scapicchio. 
“It was the lemon,” Scapicchio said, referring to the burned ambulance, after he visited the scene. “It is a shame, but we have insurance.”
After the then-new Ford ambulance broke down on a medical call three years ago, the Flanders first aid squad lobbied to include emergency vehicles in the state’s “Lemon Law,” which requires manufacturers and “component suppliers” of new vehicles to correct defects that are originally covered under the manufacturer’s warranty.
The law, which was signed earlier this month, applies to new vehicles that develop repeated defects or are unusable for extended periods during the first two years or within the first 18,000 miles of use.
A vehicle is considered a “lemon” if three repair attempts fail to correct the problem.
