Posted on: Wednesday, June 13, 2001

Blaze destroys Waimanalo home

By Shayna Coleon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Firefighters hosed down the back of a home on Nalu Street after a fire that appeared to have started in a bedroom. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

A fire destroyed a Waimanalo house today, leaving a gutted interior and collapsed roof on the single-story home. No one was injured, but eight people were left homeless.

Five engines, two ladders and 28 firefighters responded to the 5:53 a.m. alarm at 41-175 Nalu St., said Honolulu Fire Department spokesperson Capt. Richard Soo.

The house was fully engulfed in flames by the time the first firefighters arrived.

Three women were asleep in the back extension when the fire broke out in one of the bedrooms. "I didn't wake up until the neighbor started yelling from the window," said Maile Makali'i, 38. "The flame was burning so high we tried to put it out with a fire extinguisher. But we had to get out."

Three vehicles on the property also were destroyed.

Firefighters had the fire under control by 6:20 a.m., and extinguished at 9:04 a.m.

Damage was estimated at $175,000 to the structure and $80,000 to the contents.

The cause of the blaze is under investigation.