AMHERST — A University of Massachusetts police cruiser was destroyed after its engine compartment caught on fire while at a road detail on Massachusetts Avenue Monday morning.
UMass spokeswoman Mary Dettloff said in an email that a UMass officer was assigned the detail near the Haigis Mall when he observed the car overheating and smoke coming from its hood around 10 a.m.
“He immediately called the Amherst Fire Department, and they responded to extinguish the flames,” Dettloff said.
But the vehicle, one of the department’s older cruisers and with high mileage, was heavily damaged. Gear inside the trunk was safely retrieved, Dettloff said.
Assistant Fire Chief Lindsay Stromgren said the exact cause has not yet been determined, but the cruiser likely had some type of mechanical failure. The cruiser was running for an extended period, which is necessary to maintain the warning lights and the radios.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
