Waipahu fire leaves 15 homeless
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Fifteen people were left homeless when fire hit the second floor of a Waipahu home yesterday.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Firefighters responded to the 10:42 a.m. alarm at 94-371 Kahualena St.in Waipahu and had the blaze under control at 10:55 a.m., said HFD spokesman Capt. Richard Soo.
Firefighters mop up after a fire which gutted the second floor of a home on Kahualena Street in Waipahu. Although no one was injured, fifteen people were left homeless by the blaze.
The fire gutted the second floor, while the ground floor suffered water damage, Soo said. The fire also damaged a neighboring house at 94-365 Kahualena St.
No one was home on the second floor when the fire started in an upstairs bedroom, Soo said. Four people were home on the ground floor, and two construction workers were working on the home. All escaped without injuries.
A family of seven people lived on the second floor, and eight people lived on the ground floor, Soo said.
The cause was an overloaded extension cord. Damage estimates were $100,000 to the building and $40,000 to the contents. The Red Cross was helping the families.
