Posted on: Thursday, December 23, 2004

Early morning fire guts 19th-floor condo unit

By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fire gutted a unit on the 19th floor of a condominium near Kaimuki High School early yesterday but did not result in any injuries.

Fire Capt. Kennison Tejada said a fire company was sent to the Plumeria Hale condominium at 2630 Kapi'olani Blvd. about 12:50 a.m. to investigate a "smell of smoke" report.

"When they got there, they could see smoke coming out from under a door on the 19th floor and flames broke out a few minutes later," Tejada said.

He said the fire destroyed about 80 percent of apartment 1902. Three men in their early 20s reside at that unit, but none was home at the time, Tejada said.

The apartment directly above sustained substantial smoke damage, he said. The three men who live in that unit escaped.

The Honolulu chapter of the Red Cross was helping people displaced by the blaze.

Firefighters from McCully, Manoa, Waikiki, Kaimuki and Pawa'a battled the blaze. Fire Department records show the fire was brought under control at 1:12 a.m. and declared extinguished at 1:39 a.m.

A dollar estimate of the damage was not immediately available. Investigators were to return to the building today to try to determine what caused the fire.

Tejada said a few of the residents complained to firefighters that they tried to sound the building's pull-alarm but could not remove a plastic lid covering the alarm handles. A cover was finally removed and the alarm was sounded about five to eight minutes after firefighters arrived at the scene, hesaid.

"We evacuated the 18th, 19th and 20th floors as a precaution," Tejada said.

Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-7412.