DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Cassy Shinabarger of the Red Cross and Honolulu Fire Department fire safety officer Byron Kaneshiro discussed yesterday the flare-up that occured after firefighters initially extinguished a fire on Kahuanani Street in Waipahu. The fire left 10 people homeless.

Fire guts home
in Waipahu

A child playing with a lighter
started the morning blaze,
which left 10 homeless

---

By Lisa Asato
lasato@starbulletin.com

Ten people from two families are homeless today after a fire apparently caused by a child playing with a lighter gutted a Waipahu home yesterday.

"Glass was, like, shattering, I thought there was a fight or something," said Waipahu neighbor Ryan Dela Cruz, 17, who did not realize what was happening until he heard children shouting, "Mommy, there's a fire!"

A husband, 23, and wife, 22, who rent out the front portion of the home were treated on the scene for minor first- and second-degree burns as well as lacerations to their feet and arms caused by broken glass, said Honolulu Fire Capt. Richard Soo.

The couple's children -- a boy, 5, and a girl, 2 -- escaped without injury, Soo said. The American Red Cross Hawaii Chapter said the woman's mother and brother also live in the home.

Homeowner Richard Sylva, 61, who was washing clothes at the time of the 8:10 a.m. blaze, said fire crews found one of his family's five Chihuahuas "knocked out" on the downstairs bathroom floor and resuscitated him with oxygen.

DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Virtually nothing remained after a fire erupted yesterday in a house in Waipahu. The fire caused $160,000 damage to the home; some minor injuries also were reported.

The Sylvas' dogs, including Foxy, a Siberian husky who was unchained from the back yard by an American Red Cross worker when the fire flared up again, were being taken care of in Kalihi by the Sylvas' godson.

Soo said the front portion of the home at 94-373 Kahuanani St. was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. The last engine left the scene around 10:30 a.m., but crews were called back to the scene about an hour later when smoke reappeared.

"I got in my car to leave when I saw smoke coming out from the other side of the attic," said Cassy Shinabarger of the American Red Cross, who called 911. "It just escalated until it was the whole side of the house."

Shinabarger said she, along with another Red Cross worker and at least two neighbors including Dela Cruz, fought the flare-up with hoses until firefighters arrived about 15 minutes later.

Battalion Chief Manuel Neves said the flare-up was under control at 11:52 a.m. and did not extend any further than the original fire. "It was just in a void space that was smoldering," he said, adding that the returning crews were breaking down walls and using an infrared camera to make sure no other smoldering areas remained.

The fire caused $160,000 damage to the home and contents. Soo said fire investigators determined the fire was started by a child playing with a lighter in the dining room of the front portion of the home.

Sylva's wife, Karen, 54, and their daughters, Helen, 27, and Kathryn, 20, also escaped uninjured. Helen said one of the family's Chihuahuas is only 5 weeks old. "I had to carry him (out)," she said.

Helen said she "felt sick" about the loss, but added, "We got insurance on the home, so it's OK."

The American Red Cross provided temporary housing and food and clothing vouchers for both families.