http://www.azstarnet.com/northwest/121197.php Published: 03.23.2006 Oro Valley's safer cop cars Dangerous, fire-prone fords are being replaced or retrofitted By Sarah J. Boggan ARIZONA DAILY STAR What they drive ?? About Oro Valley's Crown Victoria fleet: Thirty-two do not have the new fire-suppression system. Eleven have the 2005 and 2006 fire-suppression system. One 2006 with the fire-suppression system is on order. Submitted for the 2006-07 fiscal year is a request for 16 replacement Crown Victorias with the fire-suppression system. All Crown Victorias without the Ford fire-suppression system were retrofitted with aftermarket fire panels. Until recently, most Oro Valley police officers have been "limping along" in high-mileage squad cars while waiting for the Ford Motor Co. to come out with a safer vehicle, police officials say. While some are still driving older Ford Crown Victorias ?? the staple police car ?? many are driving cars with the latest fire-suppression systems available. After several Arizona officers were injured in fires that followed car accidents because of a defect in the Crown Victoria, Police Chief Danny Sharp has been advocating for fire-suppression systems. One accident, in 2001, severely burned Phoenix police Officer Jason Schechterle when his Crown Victoria burst into flames in a rear-end collision. Schechterle survived. In 1998, Juan Cruz, a state Department of Public Safety officer, was killed in a rear-end collision when a drunken driver ran into the back of his Crown Victoria as he was doing paperwork on the side of the road near Interstate 10 at the Ruthrauff Road exit. The impact caused Cruz's car to burst into flames. "There is a potential that our officers could be in similar circumstances," Sharp said. "We wanted to make sure they had the safest possible equipment." Sharp decided to pay more in maintenance and repair costs while waiting for Ford to come out with an updated fire-suppression system, said Police Department spokeswoman Becky Mendez. "While we had concerns about our officers driving high-mileage vehicles, we felt it was far more important to postpone ordering new vehicles until the new fire-suppression systems were available," Mendez said in an e-mail. Many of the cars have more than 100,000 miles, increasing maintenance and repair costs. "We have been limping along with older, high- mileage vehicles until this issue was resolved," Mendez said. In 2002, Ford announced that removing bolts near the gas tank and replacing them with rivets reduced the likelihood of an explosion. Every Crown Victoria in the Oro Valley Police Department's fleet was retrofitted as soon as possible at Holmes Tuttle Ford, 660 W. Auto Mall Drive in Tucson. In 2003, Ford announced that a fire-suppression system would be available for its 2005 Crown Victoria police interceptors. While waiting for the new Ford fire-suppression system, in 2005 the department bought an aftermarket product and installed it on every Crown Victoria. The plastic panels, which contain fire-suppression chemicals and are attached to the fuel tanks, cost the department $400 per car including installation. Last September, Oro Valley got its first 2005 Crown Victoria equipped with the new fire-suppression system, adding $2,225 to the vehicle cost. The new system wraps the fuel tank in a protective guard containing a fire-suppressing powder so that if an object punctures the tank, it must first puncture the protective guard. If that tank is punctured, the powder is released around the fuel tank to prevent or quickly put out a fire. "We got the first batch ever available," Sharp said about the cars with fire-suppression systems installed. Mendez said the department was fortunate to get those 2005 Crown Victorias, as only 150 were manufactured during the model year. "We were able to piggyback with the Arizona Department of Public Safety," sh