RICHARD WALKER / RWALKER@STARBULLETIN.COM
Firefighters wrapped up yesterday after extinguishing a
blaze at 94-371 Kahualena St. in Waipahu. The fire
caused about $100,000 damage to the house and
$40,000 to its contents.

Waipahu fire guts
home’s top floor

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By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

Primitivo Yadao had just arrived at the Waipahu branch of City Bank at about 10:45 a.m. yesterday when a neighbor called on his daughter's cellular phone to tell them their house was on fire.

When he looked outside, he could see smoke in the direction of his house at 94-371 Kahualena St., two miles away.

"I see the smoke -- I cry already," said Yadao, 64.

He saw more smoke as his daughter rushed to drive them back home. "My daughter, 'You drive carefully,' I said. 'Never mind the house, your life take care,'" Yadao said.

Firefighters were already there when they arrived, but smoke continued to pour out of the two-story home.

Firefighters had the fire under control by 10:55 a.m. and extinguished by 11:19 a.m., but the second floor was gutted. Investigators estimate the fire did $100,000 damage to the home and $40,000 to its contents, mostly to the second floor.

Elmer Fagarang was the first to realize the house was on fire. He was working on the Yadaos' new garage and two attached rooms when he smelled smoke coming from the second floor of the home.

"I started to go inside but the fire was already big," Fagarang said. The door was also locked and no one was home, so he ran downstairs to alert Yadao's tenants on the first floor.

Honolulu fire investigators believe the fire started in a second-floor bedroom and was caused by an electrical short circuit.

The first floor suffered mainly water damage. Like most homes in the neighborhood, the concrete walls of the first floor were constructed after the original wooden structure was raised to become the second floor.

The garage and extension also appeared to have escaped major damage.

Yadao, his wife and five family members lived on the second floor.

The Fire Department referred them to the American Red Cross for assistance.

Yadao said the home is insured, but he said he does not expect to get back everything he lost in the fire.

He said six people, three of them children, live in the three-bedroom unit on the first floor.