HONOLULU

Sprinkler crucial in fire at Ilikai

Honolulu fire officials said more units would have been damaged had a lone sprinkler head not worked inside a Waikiki condominium unit.

Fire struck the 19th-floor unit of the Ilikai, 1777 Ala Moana, forcing the evacuation of the 26-story hotel and condominium building.

An 80-year-old woman, the sole occupant of the condominium unit, called the fire department at 6:59 p.m. and was able to get out on her own, fire Capt. Robert Main said. She was taken to a hospital for observation, but was alert, he said.

Firefighters reported the condo was cluttered with personal items including dresses, which provided fuel for the fire, Main said.

The unit's lone sprinkler worked, and although it did not douse the fire, it kept the blaze confined to the kitchen, Main said.

Damage was estimated at $40,000.

“;Given the amount of fuel, if it wasn't sprinkled it would have easily gone up,”; Main said, referring to at least the two next-door units.

People were allowed back into their units by 8:30 p.m.

WAIKIKI

Knife incidents bring Waikiki arrest

Police arrested a 20-year-old man for allegedly threatening two other men with a knife in Waikiki.

Police said that at about 7:15 last night, the suspect confronted a 29-year-old man with a knife on Kalakaua Avenue. The man told officers he felt threatened.

The suspect immediately accosted another man, 46, while brandishing the same knife, police said. That man apparently did not feel threatened but called police, who arrested the suspect on suspicion of first-degree terroristic threatening and harassment.

LEEWARD OAHU

Waianae man falls off truck and dies

A 38-year-old Waianae man was killed yesterday when he fell off a pickup truck in Waianae.

The man, identified today by the Honolulu Medical Examiner's office as Russell Reyes, was seated on the roof of the pickup truck to try to keep a garbage bin secured, police said.

When the truck hit a left bend in the road, he fell off onto the roadway at 1:29 p.m.

He suffered head injuries and was taken in critical condition to the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he was pronounced dead at 2:10 p.m.

Police said the accident occurred on Waianae Valley Road about a quarter of a mile south of Piliuka Place.

Police said the driver, an 18-year-old Waianae man, and a 32-year-old male passenger, also from Waianae, were not injured.

This was the 42nd Oahu traffic fatality this year compared with 56 last year.

WEST OAHU

Waipahu man accused of threat

Police arrested a 43-year-old man who allegedly threatened to stab a woman with whom he shares a house in Waipahu.

Police said that about 4:30 a.m. Monday, the suspect and a 34-year-old woman were arguing when the suspect pulled out a knife and threatened to kill her.

The suspect fled before police arrived, but was arrested when he returned to his Kahuahele Street home Monday night. He was arrested on suspicion of abuse and first-degree terroristic threatening.

Safes stolen from Waipahu business

Police are investigating the burglary of a Waipahu concrete business in which three safes were stolen.

The burglary occurred sometime between 10:30 p.m. Thursday and 4:30 a.m. Friday, police said.

A 32-year-old man, who reported the incident, found the front door of the business open and three office safes missing, police said. There were no signs of a forced entry into the building or onto the fenced property, police said.