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A small dog died Thursday in a Pearl City townhouse fire that started after the occupants forgot to turn off a stove burner before leaving.
The heat from the stove eventually ignited packaging on a nearby countertop and the flames then burned cabinets above, Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said. When the first firefighters arrived, they found flames rolling across the kitchen ceiling toward more cabinets.
Two fire companies contained the 3:20 p.m. fire to the kitchen and brought it under control in about 10 minutes. Seelig said heavy smoke filled the first floor of the two-story, two-bedroom home on Hoohiki Place and light smoke went into the bedrooms above. A dog on the second floor died in the smoke.
Seelig said the fire caused about $16,000 in damage. The American Red Cross was helping the two adult residents who were temporarily forced out of the home because of the pungent smoke odor and soot.
