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CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / CRUSSELL@STARADVERTISER.COM
A firefighter investigated a house fire yesterday at 87-108-E Kaukamana St. in Waianae. A family of four escaped the fire just before midnight Thursday with no injuries.
A Maili family of four is spending Christmas Day at a Red Cross-provided hotel after a fire just before midnight Thursday gutted their home.
A 31-year-old man, 29-year-old woman and their two daughters, ages 10 and 5, got out unhurt from the three-bedroom wooden duplex at 87-108-E Kaukamana St.
Neighbor Rosanna Kea said flames were coming out from both sides of the one-story structure. She said she heard a man yelling for his family to get out of the house.
About 30 firefighters responded to the 11:54 p.m. alarm. They had the fire under control at 12:13 a.m. and extinguished by 2 a.m.
Within five minutes the fire rapidly moved through the home, said Kea’s daughter, Mona Luke. "It looked like a big bonfire," she said.
Kea said she grabbed a garden hose to prevent the fire from spreading. Paint on one side of her wooden home blistered and four of her windows shattered from the heat, she said.
The fire started in the living room, said Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.
Kea said the family had moved into the home in October.
The American Red Cross arranged for the family to stay at a hotel for the next few days and also provided food and some money. Volunteers gave the children Mickey Mouse stuffed animals.
Damage to the home and its contents was estimated at $270,000. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined.
