Residents grateful fire
took things and not lives

Residents burned out of their homes in an Aiea apartment building salvaged what they could yesterday.

Some 27 people were displaced in the blaze that swept through the Pepper Tree Apartment Hotel complex early Sunday, gutting a 12-unit apartment building and damaging nearby apartments.

All of the displaced residents were moved to other units within the complex, said Pepper Tree security guard Florence Lerback.

She said 14 residents lived in the two-story wooden building that caught fire. Another 13 people were moved either because their unit sustained minimal water or fire damage or because they had health-related problems, like asthma, that are aggravated by ash and smoke.

The fire -- caused by a stove that was accidentally left on -- started at about 1 a.m. Sunday in Unit 409 of the complex, located at 98-150 Lipoa Place in Aiea.

Anthony Williams, whose unit was next to where the fire erupted, lost everything in the flames. He had to get a locksmith to make new car keys and was planning to take today off to start replacing what he had lost in his wallet, including identification and credit cards.

Williams had stayed up late Sunday watching sports and escaped the fire unhurt.

"It makes you appreciate what you have," he said as he toted groceries into his new unit. "The best thing is that nobody got hurt, nobody lost their lives."

Brian Dowd was doing load after load of laundry yesterday, trying to get the smell of smoke out of the clothes that were not destroyed in his unit.

The government contractor, who has lived at Pepper Tree for about a year, said he lost electronics and appliances in the fire.

"I feel kind of fortunate, more so than other people," Dowd said. "I can replace all the dollar stuff."

Dowd's neighbors Donna and Howard Eriksen were trying to save documents and other important items from their gutted unit yesterday afternoon.

Greeting cards from friends and families and an address book were laid out to dry in their new apartment.

The couple salvaged their DVD player and other appliances but were not sure if they would still work after the smoke and water damage.

Still, the Eriksens said they did not mind the losses and were just glad that no one was injured.

"In a way, it's kind of rewarding that we've gone through this," Howard Eriksen said while taking his first break of the day to eat lunch. "You realize how ... fragile life really is and what could have been."