Naas ambulance fire: Oxygen igniting may have played part as man dies

Oxygen may have played a part in an ambulance fire outside the emergency department at Naas General Hospital in which an elderly male patient died.

Two ambulance personnel were also injured after the vehicle burst into flames outside the emergency department at the hospital in Co Kildare this afternoon.

Gardaí said a male patient was in the ambulance at the time and was pronounced dead at the scene.

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HSE director general Tony O’Brien said there would be an investigation but they had an “immediate concern that oxygen may have played a part” and had issued an action notice for all ambulances to get oxgen checked. “We are not saying that is the cause,” he added.

Mr O’Brien said the ambulance was less than a year old and most of it was destroyed in the fire. In a statement later the HSE said: “Early indications suggest that the explosion caused a fire to start in the rear of the vehicle and not in the engine area.”

One of those injured suffered severe head, face, torso and arm burns and was rushed to the specialist burns unit in St James’ Hospital, Dublin. The other person was said to be suffering from lesser injuries, including shock. One has been released from hospital and the other is in a stable condition.

It is understood the ambulance had just pulled in at the hospital, and one of the paramedics was at the rear of the vehicle, climbing on the entrance ramp, when the explosion occurred.

That individual sustained injuries while his colleague was injured trying to get the patient out of the back of the ambulance.

It is believed oxygen in the back of the ambulance may have played a part in the explosion. Oxygen canisters are checked on a regular basis for safety.

Garda, Health and Safety Authority and HSE investigations are attempting to find the cause of the fire which erupted as the ambulance was backed up to the doors of the emergency department at about 1.30pm. Initial reports suggest there may have been an explosion.

The hospital’s emergency plan was put in place and parts of the building were evacuated. Appointments were cancelled and the emergency department closed with patients transferred or directed to Tallaght or Portlaoise hospitals. However the hospital reopened at 9pm on Thursday night.

Minister for Health Simon Harris visited the hospital on Thursday evening to extend his sympathies to the family. “ Like all of us, I was numb when I heard about this terrible tragedy,” he said in a statement.

Mr Harris said he also wanted to support the “ incredible efforts of the staff in Naas General Hospital on what was an extremely difficult and upsetting day and to convey my hope of a full recovery to the injured paramedic staff.”

Workers emerging from the hospital on Thursday afternoon expressed shock with several saying they understood an explosion in the ambulance had caused the fire.

In a statement the Dublin Midlands Hospital Group, of which Naas is a member, extended condolences to the patient “who tragically lost his life today as the result of a fire onboard an ambulance”.

Chief executive Dr Susan O’Reill said that despite their injuries the paramedics “responded heroicly” in the immediate aftermath.

Garda cordon

Gardaí restricted medial and onlookers to the main gates of the hospital and small groups gathered at the road outside looking towards the emergency department where just the roof of the ambulance was visible.

From a roundabout infront of the hospital’s main door the ambulance could be seen with its cab burned out and an apparant hole in the side wall of the patient area, just behind the driver’s position. Hospital screens surrounded lower areas of the vehicle and a Garda cordon was in place.

The hospital advised intending visitors to the emergency department to see their doctor if possible before travelling to neighbouring facilities, given potential crowding.

Wayne Kelleher who was standing on grass outside the hospital said he was cycling by when he saw smoke and heard “loads of bells and noise”.

“There was a lot of activity but the way the hospital is built, the fire was away from the main part and to be honest I don’t think anybody knew what had happened, what was going on over there for a few minutes”, he said.

In a statement the HSE said the National Ambulance Service (NAS) had “implemented appropriate diversion protocols and patients are being taken to alternative hospitals.

“The NAS has informed the Health and Safety Authority and An Garda Síochána and a full investigation is under way into the incident.

“The hospital has advised any member of the public seeking access to medical care to visit their GP in the first instance and if necessary to access another emergency department in an alternative hospital.”

Some years ago a series of fires were reported in the engines of new ambulances. However Mr O’Brien said it was quite clear yesterday’s fire had started in the back of the vehicle, not the engine area.