PHOTO COURTESY OF RYAN YAMASHIRO Smoke rose yesterday from the ruins of a dwelling that once housed nine people in Kalihi. Only two of the residents were home when the fire started just before 10 a.m., according to firefighters.

Man, 80, burned
trying to put out blaze

Investigators say a stove
was the source of the fire
that gutted the two-story house

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Star-Bulletin staff

An 80-year-old man was injured and nine people were left homeless yesterday after a fire gutted their Kalihi home.

The man suffered first- and second-degree burns on his hands and head while trying to put out the fire, fire officials said.

The fire destroyed the two-story, multiple-unit dwelling at 2757 Piliwai St.

Investigators have identified the cause of the blaze as originating from a stove.

A woman who lived in another part of the home said she was taking a shower when the fire began.

Both she and the burn victim were the only people home when the fire started just before 10 a.m., said Capt. Kenison Tejada, Honolulu Fire Department spokesman.

Fire officials said the woman escaped injury, while the man was treated and released from Straub Clinic & Hospital.

When the first firefighters arrived, Tejada said, the fire was fully involved and the roof had already collapsed.

Fire investigators estimate the damage to the home and its contents at $240,000.

Red Cross officials are providing food, shelter and clothing to the nine people displaced by the blaze.