Man killed
in Waipahu fire
The parents heard the screams
By Jaymes K. Song
of their son, 30, trapped in his
bedroom, as he burned to death
Star-BulletinMaximina Gomez will always be haunted by her son's screams.
Ear-piercing screams were the last thing she heard from her 30-year-old son, Wendell Gomez, before he was killed in a roaring house fire in Waipahu today.
Wendell Gomez was trapped in a bedroom of their home at 94-573 Pilimai Place when the fire started at about 3:40 a.m. After several unsuccessful attempts to open his bedroom door, Maximina Gomez and her husband ran outside the home and broke his window.
Huge flames burst out from the bedroom, singeing Maximina Gomez's and her husband's hair.
"We were trying to save him," said the 66-year-old mother. "But the fire was so strong."
And then the screams subsided.
"I'll miss him a lot," she said softly. She stood surrounded by neighbors and fire engines, a block from the home where she lived for 35 years. "That's my youngest son," she said.
"I love him so much."
Her son made Hawaiian handmade crafts and sold them to retailers and at a swap meet.
Maximina Gomez escaped the blaze with her husband, older son, daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren, ages 5 and 8.
The house was destroyed in the blaze. Fire officials estimate $250,000 damage to her house and $50,000 to the contents.
"Everything's gone," she said in tears, wearing only a jacket and nightgown.
Joseph Adsurara, who lives next door, said he was sleeping when the fire started. He woke up, saw lots of smoke outside his home and evacuated his family.
"I feel real sorry for them. I feel real bad about it. They lost their son and their home," he said.
Other neighbors said they saw flames up to 30 feet high shooting from the house.
Darren Cozo, who lives in the house on the other side of the one that burned, said nine members of his family grabbed a rabbit and two dogs and ran from their home when they saw the blaze.
However, their six birds were killed by the intense heat, and their house was damaged, he said.
Fire officials estimated $15,000 damage to Cozo's home and contents.
Cozo's brother, Jimmy Cartwright, was treated at the hospital for smoke inhalation. "My family's OK, but I'm sorry for my next door neighbor," Cozo said.
Arson and homicide detectives were at the scene of the fire, which was reported to be under control at 6:02 a.m. and extinguished at 7:45 a.m. Homicide detectives routinely investigate fatal fires. An arson investigator said that while foul play isn't suspected, it hasn't been ruled out.
Fire Battalion Chief Arthur Ugalde said a fatal fire is the most difficult thing for a firefighter.
"We're here to protect life and property," Ugalde said.
