Kahala gas station catches fire

By Will Hoover
Advertiser Staff Writer

A Kahala gas station sustained an estimated $100,000 dollars in damage this morning after a 1991 Lincoln Town Car became engulfed in flames that ignited two of the stations' 10 pumps.

Firefighters said the intensely volatile situation at the Wai'alae Chevron at 4117 Wai'alae Ave. could have been worse had it not been for the quick thinking of the station cashier, who hit the emergency power switch.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Richard Soo said a 1991 Lincoln Town Car pulled in shortly after 7 a.m. to get gas.

"What he did was put his gas cap in the nozzle handle so the pump would continue to dispense gas while he went into the mini market to get coffee," said Soo. "He bypassed the safety feature of the pump.

"When he turned around, he saw his car on fire. We don't know the cause of the fire."

Added Barney Robinson, station proprietor, "He saw the fire and ran out and tried to pull the hose out of the car. And once he did that — since the trigger was still propped open — it was just like a flame thrower."

It was at that point, said Soo, that the car owner burned both hands and the fire began to rage out of control.

Cashier Lalago Lalau-Byrd, who had just come on duty, immediately dashed outside and hit an emergency switch that shut down the pumps and the station's electrical supply.

Using the car owner's cell phone, she dialed 911 and reported the emergency.

"Oh yeah I was scared," said Lalau-Byrd. "The gas station was going to blow up — that's what I thought."

Soo said the alarm came in at 7:04 a.m. and three fire engines and one ladder truck responded. The fire was under control by 7:15 a.m., he said.

Robinson, describing Lalau-Byrd as "the hero of the day, month and year," said the 26-year-old's decisive action most likely averted what could have been an explosive disaster.

"There are safety measures that are supposed to prevent that sort of thing from happening, but you never know what could happen," said Robinson. "I'll tell you, ten minutes of fire burning at a gas station is an eternity."

The Lincoln was, according to Soo, "a total burned-out shell." Two pumps and parts of the station, which remained closed throughout the day, were extensively damaged.

The driver, whose name was not released, was treated at Straub Hospital for second-degree burns and minor burns to his left and right hands, and released.