MAPLE HEIGHTS, Ohio (WOIO) A Maple Heights EMS unit caught fire Tuesday while taking a patient to University Hospital in Beachwood.

During the transport, the ambulance began to malfunction while traveling on Route I-271 in Orange. The driver noticed smoke and flames coming from the front of the vehicle and pulled over to the side of the highway just before the Harvard Road exit.

The EMS crew, along with a student paramedic evacuated the patient from the EMS wagon.

However, the ambulance continued to burn and began to roll backward due to the loss of brakes.

Orange Village Fire and Police, North Randall, and Solon Fire Departments, and other units to bring the situation under control.

According to the Maple Heights Fire Department, it is fully operational and has a backup ambulance in service.

An investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing. One firefighter was treated for smoke inhalation at UH Ahuja and has since been released.