'Aiea fire kills mother, son
 |
| Firefighters said they were hampered in their rescue efforts because of flames and debris from a collapsed roof that blocked a stairwell.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser |
By Curtis Lum, Peter Boylan and Rod Ohira
Advertiser Staff Writers
Friends and neighbors of an 'Aiea family were in shock yesterday after an early-morning house fire that took the lives of a mother and son.
Photos courtesy KGMB
They described Gay Nakamoto, 52, as a woman who was always upbeat and willing to help. Her son, Jason, 26, frequently played baseball with his 5-year-old son in their front yard.
Jason Nakamoto, 26, left, and his mother, Gay Nakamoto, 52, died in yesterday's fire.
Firefighters found the two in the burned-out remains of the L-shaped wooden home at 99-201 Lalani St.
Three people escaped without injury: Gay Nakamoto's husband, Steven; son Shannon; and Steven Nakamoto's 82-year-old mother, Harue.
A third son, Ken, arrived home during the blaze. The surviving family members were staying with relatives last night.
Although the city medical examiner's office yesterday afternoon had yet to verify the victims' names, their neighbors and co-workers provided the identities.
The fire began in the kitchen where one of the sons was cooking.
Teri Wong, who lives on Lalani Street and called 911 to report the fire, said she awoke to the sound of what seemed like "someone throwing glass" and saw the flames.
"The whole middle section was a bright-orange light that didn't seem like flames," said Wong, who has been a neighbor of the Nakamotos for more than 40 years.
As news spread that the fire claimed two lives, the victims' neighbors and co-workers said they couldn't believe what they were hearing.
"When you hear it, you wish it was a mistake," said Lani Young, a medical assistant who worked with Gay Nakamoto at Children's Medical Associates in 'Aiea. Nakamoto did the billing for five doctors in the office.
"When they first told me, it was like, 'Oh, no,' " Young said. "I was the last one to say goodbye to her (Tuesday night). We both worked late. I was trying to get her to go to church again, so she said, 'OK, we'll go this Sunday.' "
Throughout the day, friends gathered outside the Nakamoto home.
Young and several other co-workers each brought a long-stemmed red rose and placed them in a woven basket that they left in the yard. The women, all of whom were sobbing, held hands, formed a circle and prayed quietly.
"She was an upbeat type of person — anybody can do anything," Young said.
"If you needed help, she was there for you."
Board of Water Supply trucks drove by, their occupants pausing to look at the charred remains of the home of their fellow employee who survived the blaze. Steven Nakamoto is a longtime BWS employee and is known in the 'Aiea community for his volunteer work as a baseball coach and in field maintenance.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Shocked neighbors stood in the street and whispered to one another. The mail carrier stopped on his route to offer his respects.
Friends and neighbors of the Nakamoto family start to gather outside the burned house even as firefighters water down the smoldering frame on Lalani Street. Three people in the house escaped unharmed.
Dayna Kaahanui, 19, who lives next door to the Nakamotos, said Jason Nakamoto was often in the yard playing baseball with his 5-year-old son. She said he always made a point to say hello to her.
"I talk to these people. One day you see them, next day they're not there anymore," she said.
A Honolulu Fire Department investigator and an insurance company investigator at the scene confirmed that the blaze began when a skillet filled with cooking oil caught fire.
The fire was reported at 2:36 a.m.
Police homicide Detective Larry Tamashiro said the fire was spreading by the time it was discovered. One of the sons went to the two-story section of the home to warn his parents, Tamashiro said.
Steven Nakamoto said he told his son to get the grandmother out of the house, while he rushed outside to the front of the house to try to extinguish the fire with a water hose.
Firefighters were hampered in their efforts to search for the mother and son because the stairwell leading to the second floor was blocked by flames and a collapsed roof.
The mother's body was discovered by firefighters in a half-bathroom near her upstairs bedroom. The son's body was found in an upstairs bathroom, at the top of the stairs.
Damage was estimated at $300,000 to the structure and $50,000 to its contents, said HFD spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada.
Gay Nakamoto also worked part-time at Heights Drive In, which is in the same building as the medical office. Her co-worker Flo Rivera said Nakamoto last worked on Sunday.
Nakamoto was a counter person for about five years. Her son Ken also works at Heights, which is near the family home.
Rivera last saw Gay Nakamoto on Tuesday when she stopped by for breakfast.
"We couldn't believe it," Rivera said of her co-worker's death. "She was a sweet, nice lady, easygoing. We had a lot of fun together.
"I saw the fire coming in (to work) but didn't know it was her house. One of the co-workers called to tell us."
Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or culum@honoluluadvertiser.com, Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com and Rod Ohira at rohira@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8181.
