Posted on: Monday, June 7, 2004

Fire rips through house; no one hurt

By Peter Boylan
Advertiser Staff Writer

Fire severely damaged a two-story Wilhelmina Rise house yesterday.

Three people live in the house at 3950 Sierra Drive but no one was home at the time of the blaze. Russell Kagesa, one of the residents of the home, said he did not know what started the fire.

Honolulu firefighters responded at 2 p.m. and found the house engulfed in flames, fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said. He said firefighters had the blaze under control by 2:20 and extinguished by 3.

Tejada said the home's sloped lot complicated efforts to fight the fire on the second floor of the house. Firefighters needed ladders to pump water into the second story.

"That fire was pretty hot," said neighbor Bill Lane.

Lane saw smoke start to come from the house's first floor around 2. He said he ran around the house and yelled for the neighbors to call 911. Lane said he then tried to fight the fire but falling panes of glass hampered his efforts.

The Red Cross will aid the family, and fire investigators are working to determine the cause.

Smoke from the fire billowed straight up off the hill before swirling around in big floating puffs, visible from H-1. Neighbors mingled in the streets, staring at the blaze as police shut down a small section of Sierra Drive for over an hour.

Reach Peter Boylan at 535-8110 or pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.