Three die in Hawai'i Kai house fire

By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer

A woman and her two children died in an early-morning house fire today on Lunalilo Home Road.

The fire was discovered by a jogger out for her morning run around 6:30 a.m. Seeing brown smoke coming from the house at 1038 Lunalilo Home Road, she banged on the door but could not rouse anyone.

She then went next door, where neighbor Bill Haleck called 911.

Firefighters arrived minutes later. After breaking down the back door, they found fire in the master bedroom, with the woman and two children inside — already dead, said fire Capt. Emmit Kane.

"There was thick, brown smoke," said neighbor Sherri Rigg. "The smoke was just pouring out. It is pretty devastating," she said, referring to the deaths.

Neighbors identified the dead woman as Joanna Miranda.

Her husband — whom neighbors identified as Wendall Miranda — was at work at the time of the fire, said Kane.

The family moved into the three-bedroom, two-bath home in late November, coming from Palolo, neighbors said. The children were about 6 and 3 years old, neighbors said.

The fire was confined to the main bedroom, with smoke damage to the rest of the house, Kane said.

At late morning, police and fire departments had cordoned off the brown-and-tan house as investigation continued.

Police homicide detectives and federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms are involved in the fire investigation, said Kane.

Kane said four people lived in the house.

Advertiser staff writer Rod Ohira contributed to this report. Reach Suzanne Roig at 395-8831 or sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.