Only one person on O'ahu suffered serious injuries from fireworks this New Year's Eve on a night in which rainy weather helped suppress the number of fires.

The victim, a man in his 30s, was burned on about 20 percent of his body after a fireworks accident. He was transferred from Pali Momi Medical Center to Straub Clinic and Hospital at 10:26 p.m. He was in serious condition with burns over 20 percent of his body, said Bryan Cheplic, city emergency services spokesman.

No other information was available on the incident.

Elsewhere, a Wai'anae man was slightly injured when a helium balloon caught fire and exploded, and part of an abandoned barracks at the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station was scorched in another fireworks-related incident.

At least three other people were treated for hand injuries related to fireworks, and one person was hospitalized after smoke from fireworks caused breathing difficulties.

Also, a fireworks-related blaze burned a Waikele garage and killed two cats, officials said.

But there were fewer fires than in previous years, and the rainy weather likely prevented small brushfires from growing larger.

"It was very wet, and that undoubtedly helped to control fire spread," said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Terry Seelig. "It appears we were a lot less busy than on previous New Year's Eves, but more busy than on an average day."

In the three-day period from Dec. 30 to yesterday, the fire department reported 57 fireworks-related fires, fewer than the 61 logged last year during that three-day span. The total number of fires during the three days this year, 90, also was fewer than last year's total, 127, the department said.

The city's Emergency Medical Services experienced a heavier call volume than normal, with more than 400 calls through 9 a.m. yesterday, but there were no critical injuries or fatalities, Cheplic said.

At least one person suffered the effects of the smoke.

A woman in her 30s on Mahani Loop reported difficulty breathing because of firework smoke exposure, and EMS took her yesterday to Straub Clinic and Hospital in stable condition about 12:04 a.m.

The garage fire broke out at about 10:30 p.m. on Kikepa Street in The Tropics at Waikele subdivision.

The blaze apparently started after fireworks debris that had been swept into a container in the garage ignited, Seelig said.

The debris may have remained hot enough to cause a flame, he said.

Nora Holzem, a Tropics resident who lives next to the burned garage, said the family in the house had gone in hours earlier and were alerted by neighbors who noticed smoke seeping from the closed garage. "It could have been a lot worse," she said. "It could have been disastrous."

Six cats were housed in the garage, and two of them died from smoke inhalation, fire officials said.

Cost estimates for the damage are pending. The garage contained a motorcycle and two cars, including a classic Corvette. There also was smoke damage to other parts of the house. However, the fire was extinguished before much of the garage burned.

The Barbers Point fire burned a mattress and debris in a boarded-up three-story former barracks on Roosevelt Avenue, Seelig said. Firefighters extinguished the blaze before it spread to the roof or caused more serious damage.

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