Woman suspected in 2-unit fire in Punahou

Police said they suspect a 49-year-old woman may have started a late-night fire in the Punahou area that damaged two apartments Wednesday, causing $115,000 in damage.

Witnesses have told police that they saw the woman leave a first-floor unit where the fire started. The woman did not warn any of the building’s residents that the apartment building was on fire. No arrests have yet been made.

Honolulu fire Capt. Terry Seelig said an investigator determined that the fire started in a first-floor bedroom of a unit at the Alexander Apartments. A woman who lives in the unit was alone in the bedroom at the time and escaped uninjured with her two dogs.

While no one was injured, the fire displaced five residents from the two-story apartment building.

The fire spread to a second-floor apartment, damaging a bedroom and a bathroom. A family of two adults and two children lived in the second-floor unit. The American Red Cross offered help to the displaced residents.

The first fire companies were dispatched to 1424 Alexander St. at 10:49 p.m. and arrived three minutes later. Firefighters reported that smoke and flames from the bottom floor had extended to the second floor.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 11:06 p.m. and had it extinguished by 11:45 p.m. About 35 firefighters responded.