Posted on: Saturday, June 18, 2005
Heat, smoke turn back rescuer
By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer
A retired construction foreman from Palolo was killed yesterday morning when a fire roared through his older wood-frame home despite his neighbor's effort to help.
Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser Bill Rezentes, who lives next door, was treated for a burn to his right forearm after he tried to get into the house to help his friend.
"He was a nice man, kind of a quiet man. I used to visit with him and talk story," said Rezentes, who is 72 years old.
Manalo, he said, a widower whose wife died "about 10 or so years ago," had called him on the telephone Thursday night to ask for help.
"He was a diabetic and sometimes had trouble getting up. When I left, though, he was up and walking around," Rezentes said.
Yesterday, Rezentes was leaving home about 7:30 a.m. to take his granddaughter to school when he saw smoke billowing from a window at Manalo's house.
"My first thought was to get the (grand)kids away from the fire. I told my wife to take them down the street," Rezentes said. "Then, I ran over to Fred's house to try to get him out of there."
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser "I got over there and opened the front door hoping I could find him and get him out of there, but the smoke was just too dense to see anything and the heat was intense — it singed my hair," said Rezentes, 72.
He was treated by paramedics for a burn that Rezentes believes he got when he opened the front door of the burning house in hopes of rescuing his neighbor of 30 years.
"All I wanted to do was get him out of there. I knew he couldn't do it by himself," Rezentes said.
He said that after he was turned back by the smoke and heat, he ran to his own yard, grabbed a garden hose and began wetting down his roof and doing what he could to try to keep the fire from spreading through Manalo's house. But it was no use because the fire had gained too much momentum, Rezentes said.
Honolulu Fire Capt. David Dela Cruz, whose McCully Engine No. 29 crew was one of eight fire units that responded to the two-alarm blaze, said Rezentes deserves a Fire Department commendation for trying to rescue Manalo and helping firefighters.
"His assistance was invaluable," Dela Cruz said.
Andrew Shimabuku • The Honolulu Advertiser Rezentes later downplayed his efforts.
"That's nice of them to say, but I just wish I could have saved Fred," Rezentes said.
Manalo's son, Michael, said his father had three sons and two daughters and had also adopted two daughters and a son.
All are adults and none lived at their father's home.
"He loved his children very much and in his later years just kept to himself," the younger Manalo said.
"This is a great loss for our family," he said.
One of Manalo's daughters was supposed to pick him up at 9:30 yesterday morning for a doctor's appointment, Rezentes said.
Manalo's dog, a Doberman that was locked in a dog kennel throughout the blaze just a few feet from the burning house, survived the fire and was picked up by a Hawaiian Humane Society worker as firefighters poked through the rubble looking for hot spots.
Capt. Kenison Tejada said the fire took about 20 minutes to bring under control.
Damage is estimated at $180,000 to the building and its contents, said Tejada. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, he said.
Carolyne Cook, a neighbor who lives two houses down from the one that burned, said she reported the fire about 7:30 a.m. after she saw "a little smoke coming out from under the roof."
She said a 911 operator asked her what color the smoke was and when she turned to look again, flames had already begun to shoot from the house.
At the peak of the fire, flames shot 15 to 20 feet into the air, Cook said.
Reach David Waite at dwaite@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-7410.
Fred Manalo, 74, lived alone in the sagging, single-story house at 2441 Yvonne Place, near the back of Palolo Valley, relatives said.
Firefighters inspect damage to a house in Palolo after it caught fire and killed retired construction worker Fred Manalo. Attempts to rescue Manalo by his neighbor were unsuccessful after smoke and flames quickly spread through the structure yesterday morning.
He said Manalo always slept in the "parlor" at the front of the house, just inside the front door.
After a fire that left Palolo resident Fred Manalo dead, Bill Rezentes, left, the man who attempted to save Manalo, speaks to Manalo's son, Michael Manalo, at the scene of the fire at Yvonne Place.
"He helped our firefighters drag lines; he pointed out where things were inside the burning house; and he helped keep the fire from spreading to his house," Dela Cruz said.
Fire investigators searched for clues yesterday to determine the cause of the fire at 2431 Yvonne Place in Palolo. Eight fire units responded to the two-alarm fire that broke out about 7:30 a.m. yesterday.
