AUBURN - The Auburn Police Department announced Saturday evening that they believe they have corrected the carbon monoxide issue in local cruisers which recently sent six officers to the hospital.
“The police department was very pleased and impressed with the rapid and professional response by Ford and its engineering staff which spent several days troubleshooting the problem,” Auburn police said in a statement on the department’s Facebook page. “We anticipate that by Monday the CO issue (will) have been corrected in the three remaining vehicles that have not been modified to correct the problem.”
Authorities said an Auburn officer passed out while on patrol and struck a car at a stop sign Wednesday morning after he was exposed to carbon monoxide.
Subsequent testing revealed 10 cruisers from the police department, two fire department vehicles, and a DPW vehicle with certain CO levels, and the vehicles were taken out of service. All vehicles were Ford Explorers made between 2014 and 2017, and the police cruisers were all outfitted with the Police Interceptor package.
All officers were also tested for CO exposure, and five were sent to the hospital as a precaution after showing elevated levels of the deadly gas. The officers were treated and released.
Thursday, engineers from Ford - in conference with engineers in Detroit - visited the town and began testing the town’s vehicles.
The problem with the Fords has been popping up across the country. There have been other reports of other accidents and officers becoming ill while driving the sport utility vehicles.
In Austin, Texas, police removed all of the Ford Explorers from their fleet after 62 workers’ compensation claims related to carbon monoxide poisoning were filed, WNEP.com reported.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating the problems, which include complaints of exhaust odors and possible carbon monoxide issues in civilian cars as well as the cruisers.
Auburn police said Saturday that modifications to correct the CO problem included removing exterior aftermarket emergency lighting, sealing the tail light wiring areas and replacing the rear spoiler clips.