Patient, Crew Escape Fire that Destroys Honolulu Ambulance
By Leila Fujimori
Source The Honolulu Star-Advertiser
A Honolulu Emergency Medical Services ambulance caught fire this morning in Waialae Iki, but no one was injured.
The Honolulu Fire Department received a 911 call at 10 :59 a.m. for an ambulance on fire in the driveway of 2181 Okoa St.
EMS relayed to HFD dispatch that all personnel safely exited the ambulance and relocated to the rear of the residence, HFD said in a news release.
HFD said when firefighters arrived at 11 :08 a.m., the ambulance was engulfed in flames.
Firefighters used a fire hose and “aggressively attacked the vehicle fire, ” and brought it under control at 11 :11 a.m. and extinguished it by 11 :27 a.m.
Shayne Enright, spokeswoman for the Honolulu Emergency Services Department, said a patient was inside the ambulance, ready for transport, when EMS personnel smelled smoke and used a fire extinguisher to try to put out the fire.
When asked whether the fire originated in the engine compartment or elsewhere, Enright said that is under investigation.
A second ambulance was called to transport the patient, who was listed in stable condition, to an emergency room.
The Honolulu Fire Department is investigating the cause.
The ambulance that caught on fire was not among the new rigs received by EMS.
It is a 2020 Ford-350, which had been released into operation last week after undergoing scheduled servicing, including brake and ignition work, the Honolulu Emergency Services Department said in an email.
It had logged 105, 000 miles.
The ambulance will be replaced by another ambulance and put back into service.
In Aug. 2022, an EMS ambulance caught fire in the driveway of Adventist Health Castle, killing a 91-year-old patient and critically injuring a paramedic.
That case was linked to an oxygen device.
The Honolulu Fire Department said that the fire originated at the portable oxygen regulator assembly.
The paramedic was connecting a breathing device to a portable oxygen cylinder and heard a pop and saw a bright flash of light before smoke and fire began filling the ambulance.
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