HONOLULU — According to the City and County of Honolulu, the Medical Examiner's Office has identified the patient who was killed in the ambulance fire on Aug. 24 as 91-year-old Fred. S. Kaneshiro. The cause and manner of death are pending.

The family of paramedic Jeff Wilkinson, who was critically injured in the same incident, responded to public support in a message on Aug. 27.

A patient, died and a paramedic was critically injured when their ambulance caught fire outside a hospital in Kailua Wednesday night, emergency officials said.

Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi and Honolulu Emergency Services Director Dr. James Ireland led an emotional press conference Thursday to shed more light on the circumstances of the ambulance fire.

What You Need To Know

  • A patient died and a paramedic was critically injured when their ambulance caught fire outside a hospital in Kailua Wednesday night

  • The cause of the fire is still unknown, Ireland noted, and stated the Honolulu Fire Department is taking the lead on the investigation

  • The family for the paramedic, identified as Jeff Wilkinson, released a statement on Aug. 27

  • There is no timeline for the investigation

Both Blangiardi and Ireland offered their thoughts and prayers to the paramedic (who remains listed in critical condition at Straub Medical Center’s Burn Unit) and to the patient who died in the fire, and their families.

“It was just a really, really rough night for all of us,” Ireland said.

The cause of the fire is still unknown, Ireland noted, and stated the Honolulu Fire Department is taking the lead on the investigation. He gave no timeline for the investigation, and said as of now, nothing will change operationally for EMS.

EMS is also in contact with the national Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as well as the ATF and “we’re making all records available to these agencies, because I want answers,” Ireland said.

The identities of the paramedic and the patient were not released at the families’ request. Ireland added the 36-year-old paramedic is a “family man” and a 10-year veteran of EMS. He also would not disclose why the 91-year-old patient was being transported, citing medical privacy rules.

“You know, this started out as a routine call, Kaneohe. The ambulance responded and was taking the patient to the hospital. We don’t know why the fire started, but it happened as we mentioned before, just entering the property of Castle Medical Center Adventist Health. The EMT driver of the ambulance immediately jumped out and opened the doors to render aid. The paramedic was able to escape from the ambulance, although he was critically injured and the patient was unable to be saved. At that time, the fire was just was just too intense.”

Area fire department and EMS units responded to the scene, and the paramedic was taken to the Castle Medical Center emergency room, where he was stabilized, then transported to Straub Medical Center by the Waimanalo EMS unit.

“A fire like this is extremely rare and if you can look at reports from the mainland, it has happened, but it’s very, very rare and in 30 years here, I’ve never seen it.”

American Medical Response and the Federal Fire Department ambulance based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii will provide backup ambulance services for Windward Oahu.

Lianne Bidal Thompson is the digital producer for Spectrum News Hawaii. She writes about community and general news.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to list names of the paramedic and the patient. (Aug. 30, 2022)