ESCONDIDO, Calif. -- A medical services transport van burst into flames on a North County thoroughfare Monday, blackening roadside palm trees but causing no injuries, authorities reported.

The Palomar Medical Center vehicle started burning about 9:15 a.m. in the 300 block of Valley Parkway, near Escondido City Hall, fire Capt. Pete Montgomery said.

"It was fully (engulfed) when we got there, front to back," he said.

The driver, who had just dropped off his last passenger, pulled over and managed to get out before flames spread to the interior of the Ford Aerostar, Montgomery said.

Engine crews were able to quickly extinguish the blaze, which began in the van's engine compartment, but not before it gutted the vehicle, the captain said.