Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.


Starbulletin.com


Monday, January 1, 2001



Woman dies in fire caused by illegal fireworks

Illegal aerial fireworks are suspected
in three fires, including one in Palolo
in which a woman is missing


By Crystal Kua
Star-Bulletin

Illegal aerial fireworks are suspected in house fires in Palolo, Aiea and Waianae overnight that caused more than $400,000 in damage and may have led to the death of an 80-year-old woman who occupied one of the homes.

The dollar loss and the potential loss of life this year signals the need to make further changes in Hawaii's fireworks law, said Honolulu Fire Capt. Richard Soo.

"It does appear there still seems to be a black market (for aerial fireworks), and that factor needs to be dealt with," Soo said.

"We need to fine-tune the law to try and address how the aerials are getting into the hands of individuals."

Last year, fireworks-related damage amounted to a little more than $9,000.

"Definitely, when you look at dollar loss, this could be considered one of the worst years," Soo said.


By Ken Sakamoto, Star-Bulletin
Firefighters this morning sift through the rubble left by
a New Year's Eve fire on Myrtle Street in Palolo.



Firefighters were kept busy all last night, responding to 132 calls as of midnight that included brush fires, rubbish fires, structure fires and respiratory calls. The average number of daily calls is 70.

For a one-hour period beginning at 12:30 a.m., half of the firefighters on duty on Oahu were out on calls.

The calls picked up as midnight approached.

Firefighters found the 80-year-old woman, who lived at 2615 Myrtle St., 12 hours after a fire began shortly before 10:30 p.m.

The woman lived with her 48-year-old daughter, Christine Herring, who reportedly went out for the evening, neighbors said.

The fire was started by aerial fireworks igniting boxes in the carport, Soo said.

Two family dogs, Bucky and Maggie were found dead in the home.

"Chris said today that her mother was going to stay with the dogs in the house," said neighbor Bryan Tom, who grew up on Myrtle Street with Herring. "Let's hope there's nobody home."

From his house across the street, Wesley Young spotted a glow in the Herrings' garage where piles of boxes and newspapers were stacked. Young tried putting the fire out with a fire extinguisher and called 911. He and other neighbors tried dousing the fire with garden hoses.

"The flames got pretty strong, so I backed off," Young said.


By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin
In Manoa, on Akaka St. Fireworks go up
in celebration of New Year's.



Young and his wife, Lana, cut short their New Year's Eve party at 10:30 when the fire struck their neighbors' house. Instead, they served water to firefighters and neighbors who gathered.

"We saw a lot of aerials behind the house," said Lana Young.

Herring's truck and her mother's car were parked on the street.

The fire caused an estimated $100,000 damage to the three-bedroom, two-bath house and $40,000 to its contents.

At 98-963 Iliee St. in Aiea, five adults and a 10-year-old child were left homeless when aerial rockets landed on the lanai at 10:29 p.m. and sparked a fire that caused $150,000 damage to the home and $50,000 damage to its contents.

Another fire in Waianae caused $25,000 damage to a structure believed to be a private residence on Kaukamana Road.

The fire occurred at 12:07 a.m. and is believed to have been caused by fireworks landing on a house. No one was home at the time.

In other fireworks-related incidents, an 8-year-old boy was injured when a teen-ager threw fireworks on his back on Kalaloa Street at 6:45 p.m. He was treated at a hospital and released.

On Saturday, a home at 91-1103 Kuhina St. caught fire just before noon. Fire officials said the blaze started when children living nearby launched fireworks that landed on the lanai.

Fire investigators estimated damages at $15,000 to the structure and $15,000 to the contents. A 15-year-old resident home at the time was not injured.

Soo said firefighters saw a marked increase in brush and rubbish fire calls this year. But they did not respond to as many motor vehicle crashes, he said.

Soo said that as he was driving the freeways last night, he noticed that while fireworks smoke could be seen, it was not as bad as last year. "It was really smoky, but town wasn't as smoky as I've seen it in the past."

Compared to last year's fireworks-related fatality, in which a victim using fireworks was killed, the damage last night to homes -- especially in Palolo -- occurred to innocent bystanders.


Reporters Leila Fujimori, Rosemarie Bernardo
and Treena Shapiro contributed to this report.



E-mail to City Desk


Text Site Directory:
[News] [Business] [Features] [Sports] [Editorial] [Do It Electric!]
[Classified Ads] [Search] [Subscribe] [Info] [Letter to Editor]
[Feedback]



© 2001 Honolulu Star-Bulletin
https://archives.starbulletin.com