Hawaii ambulance ‘explodes’, patient dead, paramedic injured – NBC10 Philadelphia

A patient died and a paramedic was seriously injured when their ambulance caught fire outside a Hawaii hospital, emergency officials said.

“We had an ambulance tonight for reasons we don’t understand: a fire, possibly an explosion before entering the hospital,” said Dr. Jim Ireland, director of emergency services. “We are all very concerned for our team and the patient who lost his life.”

A 91-year-old patient and a paramedic were in the back of an ambulance as it pulled up to Castle Adventist Health Care in Kailua Wednesday night. Another paramedic who was driving the ambulance was not injured. The paramedic in the back, an eight-year veteran, was initially treated at the hospital before being taken to another emergency room in Straub’s burn unit, according to a news release from the city and county.

“All of our paramedics, EMS and dispatchers are valued members of our staff and family, they save lives every day and it’s just very difficult to be in a situation where our team is injured. I’ll just leave it at that,” Ireland said. “Please pray for him.”

The Honolulu Fire Department is investigating.