Fire damages building on Nimitz Highway
Fire damaged the second floor of the POP Ocean and Marine building in the Pier 38 Honolulu Fishing Village off of North Nimitz Highway on Friday night.
The fire was reported at 8:02 p.m., and personnel from the Kalihi Uka station were on the scene within three minutes. Five engines, two ladder trucks and a rescue company — a total of about 40 firefighters — were dispatched, according to Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig.
The fire was brought under control by 8:22 p.m. and extinguished at 9:40 p.m.
The building was closed for the day, and no one was believed to have been inside when the fire started.
The fire was contained to the second floor, which is comprised of offices and warehouse space, Seelig said.
The cause of the fire was under investigation, and no damage estimate was available as of press time.
Patrons at the nearby Uncle’s Fish Market & Grill said they saw smoke and flames coming from one of the second-level windows.
Sparks, gas vapor cited as cause of blaze
A fire investigator has determined that a fire at a warehouse in Campbell Industrial Park was caused unintentionally Nov. 29 when workers taking apart components off a car produced some sparks that ignited gasoline vapor from an open container.
The 11:16 a.m. fire then spread to a pile of tires and the warehouse at 91-080 Hanua St., Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said.
The damage to the structure and contents of the warehouse belonging to Tows R Us, an auto recycling and salvage company, was estimated earlier to be $800,000.
About 20 percent of the 20,800-square-foot warehouse was damaged. Five other businesses in the warehouse had little or no damage.
Firefighters on the scene said it was fortunate that the fire did not reach several fuel tanker trucks filled with flammable vapors. If the tankers had caught fire, there could have been a major explosion, Seelig said.
NEIGHBOR ISLANDS
Plea deal puts killer in prison for 15 years
WAILUKU » A survivalist who accepted a plea deal was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for a fatal shooting.
Robert Chiarizia was originally charged with second-degree murder but pleaded no contest to reduced charges of first-degree assault and keeping a firearm in an improper place.
Alan Alika Vegas was killed during the October 2009 trespass shooting in Kaupo.
Chiarizia evaded police for eight months until he was arrested in July 2010 at a camp near the scene.
The 41-year-old Washington, D.C., native says he did not intend for Vegas to die.
The Maui News reported Friday his Maryland defense attorney, Francis Pommett, described Chiarizia as a "very gentle person" who served in Iraq.
