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Arson is suspected as the cause of a fire yesterday in an abandoned, two-story building in Pearl City used by the homeless.
Capt. Earle Kealoha, fire department spokesman, said a fire investigator determined that the fire was deliberately set with accelerants used to start fires in multiple locations.
Damage to the structure at 98-0077 Kamehameha Highway was estimated at $10,000. The room was filled with bedding and other household items that indicated homeless people lived there, Kealoha said.
The building is located on the west side of the HomeWorld store. The fire, which started in the rear of the building, was confined to an 800-square-foot room on the first floor of the two-story structure, which had been used by Stoneridge Towing until several months ago.
That fire was reported at about 12:25 p.m. and extinguished at 1:26 p.m.
