Fire guts Maui furniture warehouse
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Fire gutted the warehouse of a longtime furniture and appliance store in Wailuku early yesterday, causing more than $1 million in damage.
Tim Hurley • The Honolulu Advertiser
The fire at Standard Furniture & Appliance Inc. on Lower Main Street was reported at 12:39 a.m. Units from Kahului, Wailuku, Kihei, Makawao and Wailea responded, and the blaze was brought under control by 2:53 a.m., fire officials said.
A fire early yesterday destroyed a warehouse belonging to Standard Furniture & Appliance on Lower Main Street in Wailuku, across the street from the company's store. The cause was not known.
The warehouse is across the street from the company's retail store. The cause of the fire was not known.
Assistant Fire Chief Alan Cordeiro said a passing motorist saw the smoke and called 911. By the time fire crews arrived, the fire was "rolling" inside the large warehouse, he said, and flames jumped to the hill behind the structure, scorching about 100 square feet of brush.
Cordeiro said a final estimate of losses would not be known until an inventory is provided by the building's owner.
Irene Kodama, a member of the family that owns the store, said the damage would be substantial.
Standard Furniture & Appliance has been in business since 1939. The store has been at the Lower Main Street location since 1964.
Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
