Blaze leaves mother
and son homeless

The fire damaged an apartment
building near Punahou School

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Star-Bulletin staff

Fire investigators believe something left cooking while a woman and her son went shopping caused a fire Friday night that gutted an 11th-floor apartment near Punahou School, leaving a 45-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son homeless.

The apartment building at 1505 Alexander St. was evacuated, and rescue workers helped a woman in a wheelchair evacuate from the eighth floor, said Honolulu Fire Capt. Richard Soo.

The building does not have a sprinkler system, as it was built before the law required it, Soo said.

Soo said it took almost 40 firefighters to bring the fire under control shortly after 10 p.m. and extinguish it about 30 minutes later.

The fire caused an estimated $180,000 damage. An additional $2,000 damage was done to an apartment on the 12th floor, Soo said.

There were no injuries. The American Red Cross Hawaii Chapter assisted the family.