Blaze in Waipahu rental unit sends 2 to hospital, displaces 6

Two people were taken to a hospital and a family of six was displaced after a fire in a two-story home in Wai­pahu on Tuesday.

Firefighters responded to the fire on Kahu­aina Street at 8:13 a.m. and contained the blaze to one of four rental units in the home.

Neighbors used garden hoses to try to extinguish the fire, Fire Department spokes­man Capt. Terry Seelig said.

Firefighters had the blaze under control at 8:23 a.m. and extinguished five minutes later.

An extended family of six — four adults and two children — live in the ground-floor unit that caught fire, Seelig said. Paramedics took a man in his 20s with minor burns and a woman in her 70s with respiratory problems to a hospital.

Seelig said there were no smoke alarms in the two-story home. "We always advise residents to get a smoke alarm," he said.

The American Red Cross was helping the family with temporary housing.

Damage to the rental unit was estimated at $50,000. The cause of the fire was under investigation.