Fire in Hawaiʻi Kai home extinguished by HFD

HAWAII KAI, Hawaii (KHON2) — The Honolulu Fire Department in Hawai’i Kai said that they were able to full extinguish a fire in a two-story residential building.

HFD received a 911 call at 1 p.m. and made it to the scene by 1:04 p.m. Officials said that a cat, smoke detectors and vigilant neighbors are to thank for alerting the persons in the home and fire personnel.

When HFD arrived, they found a house with flames coming out of a second story window.

The persons in the house said that their cat let them know something was wrong and then they heard the smoke alarms. It was neighbors who called HFD.

“Tenets said that they had some candles burning. The wind and the curtains may have caught fire. There was extensive damage throughout the second floor of the structure, and they said that the cat alerted them and that they heard the smoke detectors. They vacated the property quickly, and we extinguished shortly after our arrival,” said Captain Jay Nourri of the Hawai’i Kai Honolulu Police Department.

The fire was under control by 1:14 p.m. and fully extinguished by 1:36 p.m.

HFD provided a few safety tips to avoid having a fire in your home.

Ensure that you have an escape plan with one to two backup escapes. Practice at least twice a year.

Install smoke detectors in all floors of your home or business and interconnect all of them so that when one goes off, they all go off. Installation should include inside and outside all bedrooms and sleeping areas.

Once your alarms are installed, test them once a month, and replace batteries once a year or when the alarm chirps. If you have a smoke alarm older than ten years, then it needs to be replaced.

If possible, particularly if you are building or remodeling, install fire sprinklers. Sprinklers can help contain a fire that is small and can help HFD even with the big ones.