Fire displaces Ewa Beach family

A fire investigator is looking for the cause of a two-alarm fire that gutted a single-family home Thursday night in Ewa Beach, displacing a family of eight.

Seven people, including four children, were home when the fire started at about 7:10 p.m. at 91-265 Makalauna Place, said Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig.

Family members and neighbors called firefighters before the family escaped without injury from the three-bedroom home, Seelig said. Four dogs also were unharmed.

The first company reported heavy smoke and flames coming out of the front of the house from the first floor and moving to the second level. About 35 firefighters brought the blaze under control by 7:25 p.m. and extinguished it by 8:30 p.m., Seelig said.

The fire caused about $400,000 in damage to the home and contents. A house next door and a car parked next to the home sustained about $1,000 in combined damage.

Man found in water off Kailua Beach

A man pulled from near-shore waters off Kailua Beach Park yesterday was pronounced dead at a hospital from an apparent drowning.

The man, in his 40s, was pulled from the water around 11:13 a.m. Lifeguards performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation on him until paramedics arrived, said city Emergency Medical Services Department spokesman Bryan Cheplic. He was pronounced dead at the hospital, where he was taken in critical condition.

Hiker hurt climbing Koko Crater

A man in his 50s was taken to the hospital in serious condition yesterday after he fell hiking up the railroad tracks to the top of Koko Crater.

The man lost consciousness for a time but regained it and managed to call for help, said Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Terry Seelig.

A fire helicopter picked him up, and he was flown to Koko Head Regional Park. Paramedics treated him and took him in serious condition to a nearby hospital, said Emergency Medical Services Department spokesman Bryan Cheplic.

Prosecutor drops stabbing charges

The city Prosecutor’s Office said a 45-year-old man was defending himself when he got into an argument last Saturday and stabbed a 48-year-old man in Salt Lake.

The charges of second-degree attempted murder and misdemeanor contempt were dropped after the Prosecutor’s Office determined the stabbing incident was self-defense, the Prosecutor’s Office said.