Ireland Lane, an 11-year-old cancer survivor, is in serious condition after catching on fire at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore.

Fox 12 Oregon reports that Lane was working on an art project for the hospital nurses when her body caught on fire and was able to run to nurses outside her room who put out the flames.

The State Marshall’s office is looking into the cause of the fire. Lane’s family suggests that the hospital’s hand sanitizer the young girl used after finishing the project may be to blame.

Lane had been at the hospital since Feb.2 due to an unrelated head injury.

The mysterious fire has left the hospital staff puzzled, with physician-in-chief Dr. Stacey Nicholson telling ABC-affiliate KATU, “I’ve been in medicine going back 30 years now and never heard anything like this. And hopefully I never will again.”

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

“She’s quite a tough one,” Lane’s father, Stephen Lane, told 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 was expected to leave the hospital the day she caught on fire, but now she is at Legacy Oregon Burn Center. The Oregonian reports that she has third-degree burns on her chest, ears, neck and arms.

Her 12th birthday, on Thursday, will be spent at the center as she undergoes a second skin graft.

"That this would happen anywhere, much less our hospital, was just awful," Nicholson said. "Our hearts go out to the child and her family."

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