“Our thoughts and prayers at this time are with our paramedic and his family, as well as the patient who died in the ambulance and his family,” the Irishman said. The fire broke out shortly after 8 p.m. while the vehicle was in the driveway of Adventist Health Castle Hospital in Kailua, Hawaii, according to a press release from the Honolulu Department of Emergency Services. The emergency technician driving the ambulance jumped out of it and tried to help the patient and the paramedic, Ireland said. However, the fire had become too intense and the patient could not be saved, he added. “We don’t know why the fire started,” Ireland said. “None of us have ever seen anything like this.” As the cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Honolulu Fire Department, Ireland would not release information about the investigation, he said, to avoid speculation, noting that “everything is on the table.” “We’re just as eager for answers as everyone else,” Ireland said. “We want to know what happened and we want to make sure this never happens again.” A fire of this kind is extremely rare, Ireland said: “In 30 years here, I’ve never seen it.” Officials did not release the names of the paramedic or the patient who died in the fire out of respect for their privacy, they said. CNN’s Paradise Afshar and Danielle Sills contributed to this report.
