The ambulance was not carrying a patient at the time.

This is the moment a blazing ambulance crashed into the back of a fire engine in Marbella

The firefighters, despite the speed of their arrival, did not have time to place chocks under the wheels of the ambulance to prevent it rolling forwards on the slope

IRENE QUIRANTE

Thursday, 23 June 2022, 13:30 | Updated 13:55h.

Firefighters in Marbella had to leap to safety after a blazing ambulance crashed into the back of their parked fire engine while they were tackling the vehicle fire.

The scene dramatically unfolded in the Costa del Sol town at around 8.30pm on Wednesday evening after several callers alerted the emergency services to the fire which had started in the ambulance’s engine compartment. The vehicle was only occupied by the driver.

When the firefighters arrived on the scene, near the Ojen road, the ambulance was well alight. One of the fire engines stopped directly in front of the burning vehicle, as it was parked on a slope and, with the fire, there was a risk of brake failure.

The firefighters, despite the speed of their arrival, did not have time to place chocks under the wheels of the ambulance to prevent it rolling forwards, and it ended up crashing into the back of the fire engine.

Firefighters worked hard to prevent the blaze from spreading to the rear of the ambulance, since it carried oxygen cylinders, which could speed up combustion.

Finally, they managed to extinguish the flames without further damage to the fire engine and without the flames advancing inside the ambulance. The medical technician who was driving it had to be treated after inhaling smoke.

The incident was widely shared on different social media networks, such as Marbella Se Queja, where users praised the work done by the firefighters to prevent the incident from escalating into something more serious.