JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Eleven-year-old Ewa resident Shane Avila watched Honolulu firefighters wrap up yesterday after putting out a 4-acre brush fire near Park Row Road. Avila was riding bicycles with friends Roger Tolentino and Mark Rondolos near the vicinity of Ewa Elementary School when they heard firecrackers going off toward the rear of the school's property, they said.
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Suspicious fire threatens school
A suspiciously set brush fire came within 20 feet of an Ewa Elementary School classroom yesterday afternoon.
Students said they heard firecrackers being popped behind their school before the afternoon brush fire broke out.
The fire, which consumed about four acres of brush, appeared to have been suspicious in origin but remains under investigation, fire Capt. Kenison Tejada said. He did not comment on the possibility of fireworks.
The blaze started at 1:46 p.m. yesterday. Nine fire companies were dispatched, and 30 personnel brought the fire under control at 3:03 p.m.
Students had just completed a fire drill and returned to their classroom two minutes before a janitor noticed fire in the brush, Tejada said.
The students in the classroom just 20 feet away evacuated the building. Meanwhile, the school kept other students inside as fire engines approached, Tejada said.
The school, however, was not in a lock-down, he said.
The fire was located on Park Row in Ewa next to the school, whose address is 91-1280 Renton Road.
Three 11-year-old boys said they heard the sound of firecrackers popping in the brush area earlier in the day behind the school while they were playing outside.
Star-Bulletin photographer Jamm Aquino contributed to this report.