CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- A county leader is demanding answers about ambulance reliability after the Defenders team uncovered engine issues in half of Medic’s fleet.
Some ambulances are being closely watched while others have been taken out of commission for repairs.
However, county leaders are now asking if the ambulance fleet is being fixed fast enough; right now, most of the ambulances under scrutiny remain out on the road.
“It is certainly concerning and disappointing we are having to face this,” said Mecklenburg County Commissioner Pat Cotham.
She knows from personal experience what it’s like to have a loved one in need.
“I have called an ambulance to my home several times,” Cotham told NBC Charlotte. “It’s important to know someone is coming.”
On Friday, the Defenders uncovered a startling fact in an exclusive report; half of Medic’s ambulances are impacted by engine issues. Medic says three ambulances are currently out of commission and at least eight more are still waiting to be fixed.
“I would probably like to know how many problems nationwide they are dealing with,” said Cotham.
NBC Charlotte learned the manufacturer, Navistar, is being sued in a class action lawsuit. Maxx Force engines are at the center of it all. Medic’s ambulances also use a Maxx Force engine; however, it's a smaller version than the engines targeted in the lawsuit.
“If there is a class action suit, we clearly need to be a part of it,” Mecklenburg County Commissioner Jim Puckett previously told NBC Charlotte.
Medic’s deputy director, Jeff Keith, said engine issues have happened out on the road, but fortunately not while carrying a patient. The Defenders asked him if that was a concern.
“It’s very much a concern, and when I say very much a concern, nobody wants to have concerns over the reliability of something like their ambulance fleet,” Keith previously told NBC Charlotte.
Medic said Navistar is making the repairs at no cost. Keith tells NBC Charlotte he wants Navistar to inspect all 35 ambulances with Maxx Force engines.
“The big problem is, are they going to fix it in a timely fashion and are they going to cover it up?” said Cotham. “I just want transparency, and then I want it to be fixed.”
NBC Charlotte has reached out to Navistar several times, but so far, the manufacturer has yet to provide us with any information.