One man was arrested for assault after an American Medical Response ambulance burst into flames last Saturday morning.

Shortly before 3 a.m. Jan. 2, a man experiencing a mental health crisis was detained by Federal Way officers and transferred to the custody of an AMR crew to be taken to St. Francis Hospital for an evaluation, said Cmdr. Kurt Schwan of Federal Way police.

On the way to the hospital near the 900 block of S. 348th Street, the man assaulted the AMR crew. Both employees inside fled the vehicle after sustaining minor injuries. The man reportedly began damaging the interior of the vehicle, then fled on foot, Schwan said.

After the man fled from the vehicle, the ambulance burst into flames, but it is unknown what caused the fire.

South King Fire and Rescue crews arrived to extinguish the flames. Federal Way officers were able to locate the man and arrested him for third-degree assault.

Detectives are classifying the incident as a “reckless act,” meaning the actions of the man in the back of the ambulance caused the fire to start, said King County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Tim Meyer. However, detectives did not find intentionality in the incident to classify the fire as arson, Meyer said.

Photo courtesy of South Sound News