KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
New York City firefighter Danny Conklin, center, from
Castle On The Hill fire station in Brooklyn, talked to
Honolulu Fire Department investigators Glenn Solem,
left, and Bret Lamont after this morning's blaze that
gutted a Kailua home. Conklin helped extinguish the fire.

Ground Zero
hero fights fire

A visiting New York firefighter
helps save 2 women and a
dog from a Kailua blaze

---

By Nelson Daranciang
ndaranciang@starbulletin.com

On vacation after serving at Ground Zero, New York City firefighter Danny Conklin had been taking it easy --staying with family, enjoying the ocean and going fishing.

But about 4:30 this morning he awoke to screams of help.

"I heard someone saying 'No, no.' So I actually thought a woman was being assaulted or attacked or something."

When he looked out of the window he saw flames shooting from a two-story house down the street at 210B Kalaheo Road. That's when his firefighter's instinct kicked in.

Conklin, 34, threw on his sneakers, got his nephew Matthew, 28, and ran down the road to see if he could help.

The 10-year firefighter veteran joined with Honolulu firefighters to help put out the blaze, even going inside the second floor of the structure with the local firefighters.

KEN SAKAMOTO / KSAKAMOTO@STARBULLETIN.COM
Investigator Glenn Solem looked through the debris
on the second-floor lani next to the bedroom where
today's fire started.

"You always need an extra hand because lines get kinked on things, they get stuck on things. Its always nice to have an extra hand," he said.

Matthew, a carpenter, stayed outside because Conklin said he did not have his sneakers on and because having inexperienced people trying to help at a fire scene can be dangerous.

The occupants of the home, sisters Alicia Hollinger, 18, and Vanessa Hollinger, 26, were able to escape the fire with their dog.

Alicia said she talked briefly with Conklin. "I thanked him a bunch," she said. The two sisters from Florida have been in Hawaii for less than a month.

The fire started on the second floor of the home in the bedroom about 4 a.m., Alicia said. Vanessa tried to put it out but could not, so she woke Alicia, who was sleeping on the couch downstairs.

The sisters ran out of the home and neighbors called 911.

The sisters plan to stay with friends. Damage is estimated at $100,000. The cause is under investigation.

For Conklin, his hectic day was just beginning. He was scheduled to be in town at 6 a.m. for a television interview to talk about his experiences at the site of the World Trade Center collapse.

He made it, watched coverage of the fire at the studio, did his interview then returned to the fire scene to see how Alicia and Vanessa were doing.