Eight survive fire in Kalihi Valley home
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
Eight people escaped with their lives but little else when a fire gutted their Kalihi Valley home yesterday.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
Ten fire companies and a battalion chief responded to the three-alarm fire that started just before 5 a.m. at 1739B Kamohoali'i St. The fire was under control at 5:34 a.m., fire department spokesman Capt. Richard Soo said.
Tony Cagimat helped rescue his family, including three children, from a fire that caused $250,000 damage to his Kalihi Valley home.
Resident Tony Cagimat, 33, who was roused by his father-in-law, Juanito Dumlao, said he rushed to evacuate his family, including his three children, from the fire that spread through their two-story home. Damage was estimated at $250,000.
Cagimat and his wife, Leticia, said the fire started downstairs in an open-air area where he kept his construction tools and the family hung clothes.
He said his family escaped with their cars but that more than $10,000 worth of construction tools likely were burned. With his tools destroyed, Cagimat said he worried about his construction job.
"I was shaking," he said. "I don't know what to do."
