California first responders were all abuzz when they showed up to a report of a bee sting — only to be attacked by 40,000 aggressive African killer honeybees.

The first firefighter on the scene in Pasadena was stung 17 times — six other firefighters and police were stung afterward. Three first responders were rushed to a nearby hospital while others rushed to shut down the block.

“I’ve been with the fire department 18 years now and responded to several bee incidents,” Pasadena Fire Department Public Information Officer Lisa Derderian told CNN. “But never to this magnitude. … The bees were very aggressive.”

The hive, located on the roof of a Hampton Inn, was eventually removed and the bees left.

The bees, which were introduced to Southern California in 1994, have caused havoc throughout the years — in 2018 a woman was stung over 200 times by the killer bees after reaching for a mop in her car.