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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 27, 2008

Kalihi makeshift structure collapses; 50 left shelterless

By John Windrow
Advertiser Staff

A makeshift structure in back of a Kalihi home that collapsed last night was ordered shut down for safety reasons by the Honolulu Fire Department.

No one was injured or trapped when it collapsed, HFD Capt. Robert Main said.

The Red Cross said that the structure housed more than 50 people and it had opened a shelter at 9:03 p.m. in Kalihi Valley District Park to help house them.

Main said the structure was "more than one story," but he didn't know how many people were living there. "It went down," Main said.

HFD asked police to close off the add-on structure behind a residence at 1732 Gulick Ave. and ordered electricity cut off.

The collapse was reported at 5:45 p.m., Main said.

The owner of the property has been issued code violations notices about litter and the use of metal-framed structures and tarps.

At a Kalihi Neighborhood Board meeting in February 2007, it was reported that the owner was issued a notice of violation on Dec. 13, 2006, for litter piled at the front of the property. That was corrected on Dec. 29, 2006.

A notice of violation was then issued for metal-framed structures and tarp. Since the violation was not corrected, a notice of order was issued by the Code Compliance Branch; this notice of violation is pending and civil fines are accumulating daily as per the notice of order, the minutes of the neighborhood board show.

Reach John Windrow at jwindrow@honoluluadvertiser.com.