Ironic? D.C. Ambulance Left Behind at White House After It Runs Out of Gas

File photo of a presidential motorcade. (AP)

When it comes to government cutbacks (or ineptitude), this may take the cake.

A D.C. fire department ambulance ran out of gas during a White House run.

The story, originally posted in The Washington Times, says the ambulance was left behind on the South Lawn of the White House when a motorcade left last Thursday. A fire department ambulance typically travels with a presidential motorcade.

D.C. Fire Department spokesman Tim Wilson said another ambulance replaced the one that ran out of gas, the Times reported, and that the ambulance was on motorcade duty that day.

An investigation is now underway to determine whether the vehicle was properly fueled by the operator.

"There should never under any circumstances or any instance be a time when a unit runs out of gas," the spokesman told TheBlaze. "Every morning during the shift change members are instructed to fuel up."

Recent reports in the media that it was due to a broken fuel gauge did not come from the D.C. fire department, "honestly, we don't know where it came from," Wilson said.

There was no report of a fuel gauge problem prior to this incident and "even if a fuel gauge was broken it's still the responsibility of the driver to fuel up," he added.

On average, the fire and emergency medical services department responds to 400 emergency medical calls a day, Wilson said.

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