Girl Catches Fire at Hospital

Girl Catches Fire at Hospital, An 11-year-old cancer survivor who was hospitalized recently with a head injury is now recovering from third-degree burns after mysteriously catching fire in Portland, Oregon.

The girl, Ireland Lane, was painting in her room at Doernbecher Children's Hospital when moments later her t-shirt caught fire. Lane ran out of her room screaming in attempt to get some help.

"I've been in medicine going back 30 years now and never heard anything like this. And hopefully I never will again," Dr. Stacy Nicholson, physician-in-chief at Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

Hospital staff used extinguishers to put out the flames, but they're still not sure what started the fire. Lane told staff that she used hand sanitizer to clean a table near her bed, and started painting a wooden box as a gift for nurses according to the Oregonian.

Officials are investigating the incident to find out if the alcohol-based sanitizer mixed with static electricity could have started the fire. Lane has already undergone one skin graft surgery and will be going through a second procedure this week.

"She's quite a tough one," the girl's father, Stephen Lane of Klamath Falls, Ore., said to the Oregonian. "She's been through more than any child I've ever heard of, and to still walk around with a smile on her face and enjoy the things of the day that are going on, and be a kid is to me pretty amazing."

Lane said his daughter has been suffering from "bad dreams" since the fire, but doesn't remember everything about the incident. Her father on the other hand can't get the image out of his head, as he was sleeping in his daughter's room at the time.

"Our safety experts are working closely with the Oregon State Fire Marshal's office on its investigation," said Nicholson in a statement to ABCNews.com. "We anxiously await the their findings and will certainly make adjustments if the cause was preventable."