Ford Expedition Suspected in Fatal Ohio Home Fire
Latest in a long series of cruise control fires
By Joe BentonConsumerAffairs.Com
April 8, 2008
Flaming Fords• Ford Expedition Suspected in Fatal Ohio Home Fire• Ford Fires Continue Despite Long-Delayed Federal Warning• Feds Warn Some Ford Trucks and Cars Can Erupt in Flames• Ford Fire Lawsuits Spread• Ford Recalls 57,000 More Trucks, SUVS for Fire Hazard• Ford Fires Strike in Minnesota, California• Ford Plans Another Recall to Fix Fire Hazard• Ford Fire Hazard Recall Creeps Along• Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute Continue Ford Fire Tradition• Ford Fires Kill Pets and Spread Despair as Year Ends• Ford Lacks Parts for Fire Recall Repair• New F150 Erupts in Flames as Ford Truck Fires Rage On• Red Hot Texas Car-B-Que• Kerry Vows Action to Get Flaming Fords Off the Road• Flaming Ford Scandal Disgraces Ford, Feds• Ford Tries Again to Fix Fire Problem with Massive Recall• One Ford the Recall Missed• Ford Stops Sales of Big Super Duty, Recalls 2008 Trucks• Ford Recalls 155,000 More Trucks to Fix Fire Hazard• Feds Probe Fires in Ford Escape, Mazda Tribute• Feds Wind Up Ford Engine Fire Probe with Massive Recall• Ford Truck Fires Mount as Recall Rolls Slowly• Ford Trucks Burn As Recall Fiddles• Ford Truck Fire Fix Delayed by Parts Shortage• Ford Recalls 4 Million Trucks to Fix Fire Risk• Nader Demands NHTSA Warn Ford Truck Owners• Wrongful Death Suit Charges House Fire Started in F-150• Feds Look Deeper for Ford Fire Causes• Recall Leaves Many Questions Unanswered• Houston Lawyers Sue Ford• Ford Recalls Some Fire-Prone Models• Feds Probe Ford F-150 Engine Fires• Ford Recall Was Biggest Ever
A 2002 Ford Expedition parked in a homeowner’s carport is suspected as the cause of a fire in Madison County, Ohio that killed a woman and her two children.
The Columbus Dispatch reported that the origin of the fire has been narrowed to a 10-foot space in the carport although investigators have not yet determined the cause.
Peter Romans, who survived the fire that killed his wife and children, told investigators that the fire started in his parked Ford SUV, according to the news paper.
The fire killed Billi Romans, 51; Ami Romans, 16; and Caleb Romans, 12. Their bodies were found near the back door of their house,
Peter Romans, 47, escaped with minor burns and smoke inhalation.
The 2001 Ford Expedition suspected of igniting the fatal blaze was included in the Ford Motor Company recall of 9.6 million vehicles equipped with a faulty cruise-control switch. the switch can “lead to a vehicle fire at any time,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The Ford recall began in 2005. It has dragged on because of the sheer size of the recall effort, a shortage of parts and a lack of urgency by regulators.
Several dwelling fires have been attributed to the faulty cruise-control switch which can overheat and erupt into flames.
After years of fires involving Ford vehicles, NHTSA on February 28 warned Ford, Lincoln and Mercury owners of fire hazards involving the faulty cruise control switches in recalled Ford vehicles that have not been repaired.
ConsumerAffairs.com has been reporting on the problem for years, chronicling fires in vehicles parked outside homes, in garages and even at fire stations.
In a strongly worded and highly unusual statement, NHTSA urged owners of the recalled vehicles to go to a Ford or Lincoln Mercury dealer as soon as possible and have the potentially dangerous cruise control system disconnected.
The recalled vehicles are: 1. 1993 – 2004 F1502. 1993 – 1999 F250 (gasoline engine)3. 1993 – 1996 Bronco4. 1994 – 1996 Econoline5. 1997 – 2002 Ford Expedition6. 1998 – 2002 Lincoln Navigator7. 1998 – 2002 Ford Ranger8. 1992 – 1998 Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car9. 1993 – 1998 Lincoln Mark VIII10. 1993 – 1995 Ford Taurus SHO with automatic transmission11. 1994 – Mercury Capri12. 1998 – 2001 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer13. 2001 – 2002 Ford Explorer Sport and Explorer Sport Trac14. 1992 – 1993 and 1997 – 2003 Ford E-150-350 gasoline or natural gas vehicles15. 2002 – E-550 gasoline engine vehicles16. 1996 – 2003 E-450 gasoline or natural gas vehicles17. 1994 – 2002 F-250 through F-550 super Duty trucks (gasoline engine)18. 2000 – 2002 Ford Excursion (gasoline engine)19. 2003 – F250 – F550 Super Duty, Ford Excursion20. 1995 – 2002 Ford F53 Motor home chassis21. 2002 – 2003 Lincoln Blackwood
"Failure to have the switch disconnected could lead to a vehicle fire at any time, whether or not the key is in the ignition, and whether or not owners use the cruise control system," NHTSA warned in the consumer advisory.
Ford is once again preparing to notify the owners of the affected vehicles to have the switch disconnected until it can be repaired, according to NHTSA.
Fatal fires allegedly caused by the defective switch have led to wrongful death lawsuits against Ford by several vehicle owners.
5 million time bombs
NHTSA reported that approximately five million vehicles have been repaired so far, leaving almost five million passenger cars and light trucks with the faulty switches intact, and in danger of catching fire at any time without warning.
The firestorm of Ford trucks erupting into flames has devastated Ford truck owners across the country.
The Ford inferno hit a homeowner in Chisago City, Minnesota in January when her 2000 Ford Expedition “started on fire parked in our attached garage. We have now lost everything we owned,” wrote the Ford Expedition owner. “The home we built not even 2 years ago burned to the ground,” she said.
Another Ford truck went up in flames in Westminster, California on January 22. This homeowner is fortunate. He lost only his Ford truck and not his house as well.
A Ford spokesman told ConsumerAffairs.Com in February that the automaker was doing all it can to complete the fire hazard recall.
“This was a large recall, and we're working with the supplier to meet the volume challenge as soon as possible,” the Ford executive told ConsumerAffair.Com.
Ford concedes a parts shortage is delaying repairs of the fire prone cruise control system in the recalled vehicles until later in 2008.
As a short-term solution, Ford offers to disconnect the cruise control system in recalled vehicles until parts are available to complete the repair.
Some Ford dealers now require customers who decline to disconnect the cruise control system to sign a waiver of liability.
With just more than half of the fire-prone Fords repaired, the automaker insisted the company is responding adequately in an effort to notify Ford customers to return their vehicles to a Ford dealership for repair of the fire hazard.
“We have sent multiple mailings to customers, based on current vehicle registrations, asking them to bring in vehicles. We have one of the highest return rates in the industry, based on update registration info, and sending multiple mailings,” a Ford spokesman told ConsumerAffairs.Com.
Too late
But the warnings and recall notices have come too late for many Ford owners.
• A Vidor, Texas man saw his mother's truck burning out of control less than a week after federal safety regulators issued the consumer advisory.
“I heard a loud BOOM and then horns going off. I thought it was a wreck. When I looked outside a large gulf of flames was burning dangerously close to the house and truck,” he said. “We kept the flames from hitting the house until fire department got there.”
The outrageous -- but common -- story of Ford vehicles catching fire was reported over and again throughout the country in February as NHTSA talked and worried in internal agency meetings about whether to issue the consumer advisory.
• On February 27 in Granite City, Illinois, the day before the NHTSA warning, a 2001 Ford F150 burned.
“I was awakened by 2 small booms about a minute apart. I got up to check things out to find my 2001 F150 in the driveway fully engulfed in flames as well as my boat parked about 15 feet away beginning to burn,” the Illinois truck owner reported. “The truck, boat, contents, asphalt driveway are total losses,” he said.
• A day later in Monticello, Florida a Ford F150 burned in a shopping center parking lot while the owner was inside a store.
• In early February in Fairview, New Mexico a 1997 Ford F150 burst into flames. “We heard a loud boom which caused the dogs to start barking,” the truck owner said. When the Monticello fire department arrived 30 minutes later the truck was still burning.
• An Orange Park, Florida Ford owner reported February 9 that his 1999 Lincoln Navigator caught fire and was destroyed.
• On February 9 a 1999 Ford Explorer caught fire in Woonsocket, Rhode Island.
“I had just parked at a Burger King for lunch. The truck caught fire minutes after I enter the restaurant,” the owner said. “The truck was fully engulfed when firefighters finally put out the fire. I am grateful no one was in the vehicle at the time but I am out the only truck I owned.”
The Rhode Island Explorer owner told ConsumerAffairs.Com that he was not aware of the recall issued in issued on August 2007 and said he was never notified of the important recall even though he had owned the vehicle for many years.
• On February 4, a Ford F150 Lariat caught fire in Virginia Beach, Virginia, even though the cruise control switch was previously repaired under the terms of the August recall.
• In Alta Loma, California a ConsumerAffairs.Com reader found his Ford truck on fire while eating lunch at home. “Surprisingly every Ford rep was extremely rude and acted as though it's my problem not theirs,” this Ford truck owner reported.
• On January 22, a Ford Expedition XLT caught fire in Westminster California.
”After driving the vehicle for approximately 20 minutes it was parked in the driveway,” the owner said. “Approximately 1 hour later the engine compartment was on fire and became engulfed within minutes. Fortunately the vehicle was not in the garage.”
Ford truck and SUV owners wanting more information about the fire danger in their vehicle or the recall may contact Ford at 1-800-392-3673 or NHTSA 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153).
~~~~~Note from Catherine~~~~~~
***Please if any of you have questions, concerns, or need a lawyer for a Ford Fire and damages call Bradley Leger (pronounced lay jay)*** He has had considerable experience in this matter and has won suits against the Ford Motor Company.
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Bradley L. Leger born Sulphur, Louisiana, August 10, 1976; admitted to bar, 2003, Texas; 2004, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas; 2005, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit. Education: McNeese State University (B.A., 1998); South Texas College of Law (J.D., 2003). Phi Delta Phi. Recipient E. E. Townes Award, 2002. Articles Editor, South Texas Law Review, 2002-2003. Listed in Who's Who in American Law, 2005-2006. Author: "Thermal Imaging and the Fourth Amendment: The Gov't's High-Tech Assault on a Once Treasured Haven," 43 S. Tex. L. Rev. 837, 2002. Member: Houston Bar Association; State Bar of Texas; The American Association for Justice; Texas Trial Lawyers Association; Houston Trial Lawyers Association; Houston Young Lawyers Association. Practice Areas: Civil Litigation; Federal Litigation; Civil Appeals. Email: Bradley L. Leger
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