Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/238322
4 News maltatoday, WEDNESDAY, 8 JANUARY 2014 Inquiry suggests Marsa bendy bus fire caused by electrical fault in battery MIRIAM DALLI A magisterial inquiry carried on a bendy bus which caught fire in August suggests that the cause of the fire was an electrical fault in the vehicle's batteries, and not arson. Although a separate report compiled by Transport Malta had reportedly claimed that arson or sabotage could not be excluded, the magisterial inquiry on the bendy bus which caught fire in front of the Maltapost offices says the highest probability confirmed otherwise. The Marsa bendy bus fire had not been an isolated case, prompting the Transport Minister to order the removal of the Mercedes bendy buses off the roads. When the Minister appeared on TV in December saying the magisterial inquiry had ruled out arson, Arriva reacted saying that a TM fire investigators report said, "the possibility of intentional arson cannot be ruled out". The bendy buses were subsequently banned from Maltese roads, set to never return. Now that the public transport service has been temporarily taken over by a state-owned company, parts of the magisterial inquiry have been made public. Having ruled out arson, the inquiry investigated the possibility of a technical fault, caused either by leakage of fuel or oil or an electrical fault. The investigation took into consideration that when the empty bus had arrived to Marsa from Bormla, it had been parked for two hours giving it ample time to cool down. Its stop in front of the Maltapost HQ was the second one due to a fault. While the fire was reported at around 12.45am, the bus broke down in front of the Maltapost HQ 45 minutes before. According to the inquiry, this difference in time meant that engine oil and hydraulic oil had cooled down while diesel was not circulating under the pressure of the pump. The good condition in which these parts of the bus were found confirmed that such a technical fault had not been the cause. The second possibility investigated was that an electrical shortage in the batteries caused the fire, although it is very rare that evidence of shortage of wires is found due to the extreme damage such a fire causes. Evidence is "obliterated" in such a fierce fire. However, the inquiry did observe damage on one of the batteries' terminals, damage which indicated that there had been an electrical shortage. It was also noted that the mechanics, before the fire broke out, could not restart the bus, suggesting a serious breakdown in the electronic system of the vehicle. How much has the Arriva experience cost the taxpayer? When the previous administration embarked on the public transport reform, the taxpayers forked out some €58 million in compensation to the old yellow bus drivers. Yellow bus owners received €100,000 per vehicle. At the time, in 2010, there were a total of 508 buses in service, 131 of which were new. The reform and the introduction of the low-floor buses required a €10 million infrastructure investment, an investment which is still being enjoyed today. Since 2011, the government has paid Arriva €23 million in subsidy while the former public transport operator suffered a €68 million loss during its tenuous experience on the island. When Arriva bowed out with a share-transfer agreement for the nominal price of €1, the public transport was temporarily taken over by the Malta Public Transport Services Ltd. The state-owned company incurred €3.2 million in creditors from Arriva Malta, and a possible €6 million in accrued debts that are yet to be audited. The €68 million debt incurred in Arriva Malta's operations was cancelled by parent company Deutsche Bahn. According to reports, the taxpayer is also set to fork out €2 million per month in losses until a new operator is chosen. An expression of interest is expected to be issued by the end of this week. 'No operation cancelled' despite overcrowding and bed shortages – MUMN MUMN President Paul Pace: "Nurses should not be taken for granted" ONE hundred operations were carried out on Monday even though no beds were available, Malta Union of Midwives and Nurses President Paul Pace said. In an open letter to the Health Minister, in which he thanked the nurses for their work and commitment, Pace said that no single operation was cancelled, despite the overcrowding reported in Mater Dei Hospital and the shortage of beds. "One hundred operations were performed today. With no beds available, the patients were taken straight to the operating theatre and discharged also from the operating theatre. This was the second time that such a feat was performed this winter." With no beds available, all corridors, wards, various holding bays and even the paediatric corridor were full of medical patients. "Nurses are doing miracles when the number of nurses is so few to cope with the demands of such a huge number of acutely ill patients. The nurses worked against all odds in nursing practice, with the burden being shared by all the nurses working in wards and corridors. The entire nation should be grateful to Mater Dei's nurses," Pace added. Pace said nurses working in the operating theatres and the day surgery unit worked "against all odds" in nursing practice. He said that such a sacrifice was also burdened by all the nurses working in various wards and corridors of hospital "who are working on a daily basis with less than half the actual nursing compliment". But the union's president said this excessive pressure could lead to human errors or even mental breakdown, and thus he appealed to the Health Minister to tackle the problem. "Such pressures and excessive workloads are not to continue whenever Mater Dei has no beds available. Nor should nurses be taken for granted. Such excessive demands should be taken on frequent basis." Pace concluded that without taking into consideration the extra beds, the hospital is already 200 nurses short at the very least.