Posted on: Saturday, March 12, 2005
Ten homeless after Pearl City fire
By David Waite
Advertiser Staff Writer
A fire caused substantial damage to a home in Pearl City yesterday morning and left approximately 10 people without shelter. A woman who tried to put out the blaze with a pot of water was treated for minor smoke inhalation and taken to a hospital as a precaution.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Emmit Kane said the fire appeared to start in a downstairs bedroom in the middle of the wood-frame house.
"A grandmother in her mid- to late-70s first noticed the fire and alerted her daughter and two grandchildren who were the only ones home at the time," Kane said.
He said the older woman tried to extinguish the blaze with a pot of water.
"But it had progressed to the point beyond her being able to control it," he said. "The thing to emphasize here is that the family did the right thing — they all got out safely and then called 911."
The woman who tried to put out the fire was treated at the scene for minor smoke inhalation and was taken to Pali Momi hospital as a precaution, Kane said.
Six fire companies and approximately 30 firefighters responded to the two-alarm blaze.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation and the Red Cross is assisting family members, Kane said.
The fire at 1652 Komo Mai Drive was reported at 8:39 a.m, was under control at 9:07 a.m. and declared extinguished at 9:15 a.m.
A firefighter trains his hose on a hot spot in a Pearl City home damaged by fire. Two adults and two children were in the five-bedroom home when the fire started yesterday morning.
