By Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writer

A 36-year-old woman is suspected of starting an early morning fire today that gutted her fourth-floor Waipahu apartment.

No injuries were reported from the 1:13 a.m. fire at 94-333 Pupuole St., an apartment building owned by Ujimori Realty. The damage to unit 402 is estimated at $100,000 to the structure and $30,000 to contents. Three other units in the building sustained smoke and water damage.

The Hawaii Chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting 11 adults and 11 children from six families with temporary shelter, food and clothing.

Witnesses saw the woman on the balcony of her unit, a few feet away from the flames, police said. She fled the scene and was later located hiding under a blanket in a nearby park. She was taken to Castle Medical Center for a mental-health evaluation and will likely be arrested for first-degree criminal property damage upon her release from the hospital.

The woman’s 17-year-old son, who was asleep in the apartment when the fire started, is being cared for by relatives.

One of the family’s two dogs perished in the fire, police said.