Some financial records safe after UH fire

University of Hawaii employees have determined that many documents survived a stubborn fire that destroyed the UH system’s Financial Management Office on Sunday and Monday — but UH officials have suspended deadlines for all competitive solicitations and bids for goods, services and construction.

The fire inside Lower Campus Building 171 next to the Stan Sheriff Center burned from Sunday morning through Monday night.

Honolulu Fire Department investigators determined the fire was caused by a wiring malfunction inside a wall, causing $1.25 million in damage and loss of contents. Firefighters classified the fire as unintentional.

The remains of Lower Campus Building 171 have been cleared for destruction and demolition will "commence soon," UH officials said Wednesday.

Once UH’s Office of Procurement and Real Property Management reopens, UH officials will issue an amendment to establish new submittal deadlines for vendors, UH officials said.

UH also began notifying neighbors who suffered property damage that they can file a claim for damage by contacting the university’s Risk Management Office at 956-7243 or at hawaii.edu/risk- management.

UH employees, students and others seeking updates on the recovery progress can visit www.hawaii.edu/fire-info.

The fire displaced about 53 employees in UH’s fiscal division. UH has set them up with computers, phones, Internet connectivity and furniture to resume operations, UH officials said.

"The University of Hawaii would like to express its deepest appreciation to the Honolulu Fire Department for the fine job its firefighters did in controlling and extinguishing Sunday’s fire at portable building 171D, housing the UH System’s Financial Management Office," UH officials said in a statement Wednesday.