High-rise blaze
damages 2 units

Secure plastic covers on the
fire alarms frustrate residents

A high-rise fire in Moiliili early yesterday left six people homeless and neighbors wondering why they could not activate the building's fire alarm.

Residents at Plumeria Hale, 2630 Kapiolani Blvd., told firefighters that they tried pulling the fire alarms when they saw flames coming from Unit 1902, but could not remove the plastic covers.

"All of them are covered by plastic, and there's a little half screw they had to turn but they didn't know that," said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada. "People need to access those pull stations in case of emergency. ... There shouldn't be any hindrance to safety."

Fortunately, Tejada said, the three men who live in the unit were not home at the time of the fire. Three other men who live in the unit above were home but escaped once one of them noticed the flames lapping up from below.

"The flames were like 10 to 12 feet high, because they were reaching the apartment above them," said eighth-floor resident Mike Scully. "They were curling up from the lanai below to the lanai above."

The fire was reported at 12:48 a.m., and when firefighters arrived they saw flames coming through a window. Tejada said firefighters evacuated floors 18, 19 and 20 as a precaution; however, most building residents evacuated themselves anyway.

"Everybody went downstairs because nobody knew what was going on," said Scully, "especially since the fire alarms didn't go off. People were pulling the alarms and they didn't go off."

Building custodian Danny Yee said the fire alarm covers were installed about a month ago after a false alarm had been triggered.

"You have to use real force to open it," Yee said. "It's just a plastic cover but the guy unlocked it now."

Yee said the new fire alarm "boxes" were installed by Alii Fire Protection Co. A company representative declined to comment.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 1:10 a.m.

Damage to the apartment was estimated at $150,000 to the structure and $25,000 to its contents, Tejada said. The apartment upstairs received smoke and heat damage, but no estimates were available. The fire also caused some cosmetic damage to the building's exterior.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. Investigators are focusing on the living room area, Tejada said.