MOUNT OLIVE — A Budd Lake ambulance caught fire early Sunday morning while emergency responders were transporting a 40-year-old man to the hospital, according to Mount Olive Police.

At about 3:13 a.m. Sunday, Mount Olive Police Officer Thomas Cuff responded to the Hensyn Village Apartment complex near Stedwick Drive for an ambulance on fire, police said.

Budd Lake Ambulance 75 was on its way to transport a patient to a local hospital when smoke started to come out of the dash, said Budd Lake Fire Department Assistant Chief Kevin Maloney. BEGIN RELATED LINKS

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The crew pulled to the side of the road and saw flames coming through the heating vents, police said. The ambulance was fully engulfed in flames, police said.

Crew members removed the patient from the ambulance and brought him to an apartment for safety, Maloney said.

The fire was under control within 15 minutes, and the ambulance was destroyed, Maloney said.

A second ambulance arrived on scene to transport the 40-year-old man to the hospital, along with two crew members for smoke inhalation, police said.

The cause of the fire is considered under investigation by the Mount Olive Police Department's Investigations Division and the Office of the Fire Marshall.