FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
About 30 firefighters helped put out a fire that destroyed a two-story house in Waipio Gentry yesterday morning. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Waipio Gentry home
burns down in blazeA witness says he heard
a sound like firecrackers
Fire investigators searched yesterday for the cause of an early morning fire that destroyed a Waipio Gentry home.
Two men, two 2-year-olds and one 6-year-old escaped unharmed. A woman living there was at work, a fire official said.
Neighbors said the house was rented by a husband and wife with a child, and the wife's brother, who has two sons.
The fire, reported at 12:45 a.m., took the roof off the garage, then destroyed the two-story house at 94-1073 Leomana Place.
About 30 firefighters brought the fire under control by 1:03 a.m. and had it extinguished by 2:05 a.m., said fire Capt. Kenison Tejada.
Fire investigators estimated $260,000 in damage to the building and $40,000 to its contents, including a motorcycle in the garage, where the fire began.
Tejada said investigators did not have a cause yesterday afternoon.
One neighbor, Kai Hoohuli, 28, said a resident in the house heard a bang. A witness said he heard what sounded like popping firecrackers.
Hoohuli said he rushed outside and saw tenants of the burning house standing outside, then began to warn neighbors.
Hoohuli helped move two vehicles parked outside the garage, breaking into one since the residents fled without anything, including keys.
A fire official said the families stayed with relatives.
Nearby residents feared the fire would spread, given the proximity of their houses, which are built nearly to the edge of the lot.
"It was raging, full-blown, when firefighters got here," Hoohuli said.
Neighbor Jim Fromm's house, 10 feet away, was mostly unharmed. A plywood wall protecting his gas grill was scorched by the heat.
"That's way too close for comfort for me," Fromm said.
