Apartment fire in Makiki leaves three people homeless
By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer
Fire destroyed a one-bedroom apartment at 1013 Prospect St. yesterday, sending clouds of black smoke to the top of the 12-story building and residents rushing down into the street clutching purses, laptop computers and pets.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
An elderly man, his daughter and another person were left homeless by the fire and are being assisted by the Red Cross.
Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Leon Laba stays in communication as firefighters clean up after a blaze that gutted a Prospect Street apartment yesterday. The damage left three people homeless.
Firefighters received the emergency call at 9:44 a.m. from residents in the Makiki building and were initially worried that the elderly man might be trapped inside the third-floor apartment. Later it was determined that he was not home.
The fire was under control by 9:56 a.m. but had caused $100,000 damage to the building and $30,000 damage to its contents.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada said there is some smoke damage to the rest of the building. Investigators say they suspect something in the living room, possibly electrical, as the cause of the fire.
Tejada said firefighters were able to access the apartment from the rear of the building and put out the fire quickly. Two fire crews searched the apartment for the resident to make sure he was not inside.
Becky Beardsley was sleeping in her 11th-floor apartment at the time of the fire. She heard the alarm and saw the smoke, then quickly put her cat into a small zippered suitcase and rushed down the stairs.
Terri O'Rourke has lived in the building for nine years and said this is the first major fire in the 80-unit complex. She was in her fifth-floor apartment when she saw the smoke and flames from the apartment below. She said she could hear the sound of glass exploding from the heat.
Tejada said the concrete building has an exterior walkway allowing people to get outside to escape rather than becoming trapped by smoke in an interior corridor.
Resident manager Doug Blanten said the resident in the burned-out apartment uses a walker but is very mobile.
Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.
