Orleans ambulance lost air brakes on Mid-Cape Highway… Yarmouth...

YARMOUTH – The air brakes suddenly lost pressure and an elderly patient needed to be transferred from a broken-down ambulance to another in a rest area on the Mid-Cape Highway this morning…

At about 4:54am, a Yarmouth Fire Department ambulance responded to a westbound rest area between Exits 8 & 7 to pick up a patient that needed to get to CCH…

Rescue workers on board an Orleans Fire & Rescue ambulance said they suddenly began to lose air pressure to their brakes as they descended down the incline westbound just past Exit 8. Luckily for all on board there was a rest area available as they immediately pulled off the highway. They were able to stop…

According to one of the rescue workers, the brakes tend to sieze up when they completely lose pressure. It would have been a bad spot to abruptly come to a stop in the middle of the highway…

An elderly female patient was transferred into a Yarmouth ambulance and soon arrived at CCH without further incident.

Orleans Ambulance 174 was said to be newest in the department’s fleet, estimated to be just 2 to 3 years old.

All three rescue workers on board reported it was the first time they had ever experienced an ambulance breaking down in the middle of a call.

Thankfully nobody was harmed, but the rescue workers did need to take time out of service while waiting for a tow truck to transport them back to Orleans.

The following video highlights the unusual scene…

[Press play… Select HD in the settings and enlarge player for best quality…]