Neighbors helped save house, firefighters say
By Brandon Masuoka
Advertiser Staff Writer
The quick response of neighbors who called emergency and sprayed water on a 'Alewa Heights house fire yesterday helped prevent it from spreading.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
Nine fire companies responded at 11:37 a.m. to the fire at 1048 Kalikimaka St. and had it under control at noon, Honolulu Fire Capt. Richard Soo said.
Lloyd Kim used a garden hose to help fight a fire at his neighbor's house, background. Kim and Kevin Kemp helped contain the blaze.
The house was being renovated and the owner, Charles Wiebe, was not home, neighbor Eva Kim said.
Kim, 75, and her husband Lloyd, 77, said they heard an explosion at 11:30 a.m. and saw the third floor of Wiebe's house ablaze. Lloyd Kim and another neighbor, Kevin Kemp, grabbed a garden hose and sprayed water on the fire.
Soo credited the Kims for calling HFD early and for helping to douse flames.
"The fast actions of the Kims kept the fire confined to the third floor of the house," he said.
The fire caused an estimated $90,000 in damage, Soo said. The cause is under investigation.
