Jenna Bordelon
NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- A fire that damaged a police squad car was
probably due to an electrical short in the dashboard, officials said.
Sgt. Kelly Frank was inside the Coral Cafe in the 3300 block of West
Burbank Boulevard around 1 p.m. Thursday when he was alerted to the fire
by a passerby. The concerned citizen saw smoke drifting out of the Ford
Crown Victoria.
Fire officials disconnected the battery and put out the blaze, Lt.
Robert Giles said.
The windshield of the car was cracked and blackened and there was
smoke damage throughout the interior.
Thursday's incident marked the fourth time that a police patrol car
has gone up in smoke in 18 months. The first was in February 1999, the
second Jan. 20 and the third May 31. Each of those fires had been
attributed to faulty road flares.
Following Thursday's fire, the car was towed to the city yard where an
arson investigator will try to find the exact cause of the incident, Fire
Marshal David Starr said.
"It's under investigation," he said, "but at this time it appears
electrical in nature."
The dollar amount of the damage was not immediately known, he said.
