Fire destroys apartment
By Heather Tang
in Mililani area
Star-BulletinA 4-year-old boy apparently playing with a lighter accidentally set fire to his bedroom yesterday morning while his mother slept.
Flames spread through the Waipio Acres apartment near Mililani, destroying the two-bedroom unit in the concrete building.
Two fire engines responded to the 10:52 a.m. blaze at 95-023 Waihau St., across from the Hill Side Market. Firefighters had the blaze under control in five minutes.
"We were all home sleeping in our rooms. I could hear (my roommate) screaming and saw her son's bed in flames," said Natalie Woods, who has shared the apartment since April with four others including her 3-year-old son.
"I yelled at her to get her baby and get out of there."
Woods said the fire probably was caused by her roommate's son. "He probably found one of her lighters. Our sons both know how to play with lighters, we've caught them lighting toilet paper before. ... I was more mad than scared. It's careless to leave lighters lying around," she said.
Witnesses say sounds of screaming and glass breaking called their attention to the second-floor blaze.
Sonya Keuma was across the street during the fire. "We saw a young woman come out of the apartment, yelling at her kid not to play with matches," she said. "The unit was fully engulfed in flames; black smoke was coming out the door."
Three people were released from Wahiawa General Hospital after treatment for smoke inhalation.
Damage is estimated at $40,000 to the structure and $10,000 to the contents, said fire officials.
The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents.
