Fire investigators, right, talked to occupants of a home at 2427 Kula Kolea Drive after the top floor was gutted by a fire yesterday at around 11 a.m. One person was home at the time. No one was injured in the blaze.
Bad luck strikes Kalihi
home again
A Kalihi Valley home with a streak of bad luck was severely damaged yesterday morning by a blaze that began on a stove.
Investigators traced the fire's origin back to a melted aluminum pot that had been on the stove burner. The fire destroyed the upper floor of the two-story house at 2427 Kula Kolea Drive, causing an estimated $210,000 in damage to the home and its contents.
"What we're trying to determine is why the stove was on," said fire Capt. Kenison Tejada. "This house has had its share of misfortune."
In the past, two runaway trucks have smashed into the property, which sits on the corner of Kula Kolea Drive and Likelike Highway, he explained.
Tejada said the first accident took place about eight months ago when a rubbish truck lost its brakes, slid onto its side and crashed into three cars, sending one into the fence of the home. A couple of months later, a dump truck carrying broken-up pieces of concrete also flipped onto its side, with the load of concrete taking out the same fence, he said.
In yesterday's fire a 25-year-old man who lives at the home got out safely. He told fire investigators he had not been cooking, but said oil had been left in the pot.
Tejada said the stove had been left on, heated the contents of the pot, eventually burning right through it. The oil in the pot ignited, and the fire spread through the house.
The fire was reported at 11:06 a.m. When firefighters arrived five minutes later, the house was engulfed in flames, Tejada said. Six fire companies responded.
Tejada said the resident heard the smoke alarm and went upstairs but realized he could not handle the fire. He closed the door and called 911.
The man rents the four-bedroom house with two other men.
Another tenant, a 24-year-old man, arrived home to find that his 1987 Mercedes Benz sedan parked in the garage was also damaged by the fire.
Star-Bulletin reporter Rod Antone contributed to this report
