It was an emotional night Wednesday after an ambulance exploded killing the patient and seriously injuring a medic.
The ambulance was near the hospital when the explosion and fire occurred.
The incident jarred the medical community to its core.
“This is something I’ve never seen before. It’s a very difficult situation for us.” Dr. Jim Ireland, emergency services director, said during a press conference.
Ireland refused to answer a question about the nature of the medic's injuries.
"All our paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers are all treasured members of our staff and or family, they save lives every day, and it's just very hard to be in a situation where our team is the ones who are injured. I'll just leave it at that. Please pray for him."
The medic, who has been with the Honolulu Emergency Medical Services for eight years, was treated at the hospital before being transferred to the burn unit at Straub Hospital, The Star-Advertiser reported.
The EMT driver was not hurt.
Authorities are investigating to determine the cause of the explosion.
