Five fires set at three Waianae schools since last week may be linked, Honolulu police said.
Authorities say 5 fires
have been set at 3 schools
in Waianae since last week
By Lisa Asato
Star-BulletinThe latest and most damaging fire occurred at 11:30 p.m. Monday at Waianae High School, where portable Classroom 22 was "pretty much wasted," with about $40,000 in damage to the building and $1,000 to its contents, said Fire Capt. Richard Soo.
Police said they are handling the case as a burglary investigation because the suspect or suspects broke into the classroom to set the fire.
The fire was started using a flammable liquid, Soo said, and firefighters found the portable's wooden jalousies removed and the door ajar.
It was the latest in a rash of area school fires -- three at the high school, one at Waianae Elementary School and another at Kamaile Elementary School. The schools are all within 112 miles of each other.
"We're looking into the possibility that they're linked," said Detective Robert Cravalho of HPD's firearson detail. "We usually get fires at schools ... but when I look at four (fires) occurring in a general area with a similar time element and similar details, we can't help assume that (we're) dealing with the same individual or same group of individuals. But I can't say for certain that's what it is."Additionally, the method of starting the fire was similar in three of the four cases, Cravalho said.
"It appears they aren't bringing anything to the scene other than what they're using to ignite the paper source," he said. "In other words, they're using whatever (combustible material) is available at the scene."
Cravalho said that a fire was set last Wednesday at Kamaile Elementary School. It burned itself out, however, and caused minor damage to the outside cafeteria wall.
Soo said that on Thursday, firefighters responded to a report of a fire at 3:35 a.m. at the high school, but they could not find anything. However, firefighters were called back to the school at 8:03 a.m. after teachers found a portable classroom damaged by fire.
Soo said that fire caused $1,200 in damage.A custodian also told fire investigators he found paper under an adjacent portable in what appeared to be an attempt to ignite a second fire, Soo said. That fire failed to catch and caused $100 in damage.
"It does seem to be all fires were intentionally set, and it does seem to be escalating," he said, noting that damage costs have risen from $1,200 to $1,500, in damage to a Waianae Elementary classroom wall on Thursday, to $41,000 most recently.
At the high school, two of the fires displaced 20 special-education students who are now having class in the library.
And Monday's fire damaged some students' Hawaiiana project, said Gary Fujii, vice principal in charge of facilities. "Fortunately school is coming to an end, so the library is closed so kids are able to work in an environment suitable for learning," he said.
The high school plans to heighten around-the-clock security, he said.
