Fatal house fire a sad reminder
The fatal house fire in Waipahu on Tuesday started by an electrical malfunction in a kitchen wall outlet is a reminder that we must always be alert to possible dangers around us. Two people died in the fire — an 84-year-old man and his 55-year-old daughter — and the property was severely damaged.
Honolulu Fire Department officials said the man’s son managed to escape, though they weren’t sure how, but in any case they urged Hawaii residents to make fire escape plans for themselves, including alternate plans in case the first options are blocked.
They also urged the installation of smoke alarms, after noting that they found no such alarms in the damaged Waipahu home.
It’s never a bad time to take action to protect yourself. The life you save could be your own.
Our traffic’s bad, but not that bad
Honolulu is the nation’s eighth-worst city for car drivers in a new ranking, which, all things considered, could be seen as good news. A more comprehensive study last year put Honolulu as the downright worst in traffic, with drivers wasting nearly 60 hours a year stuck in gridlock.
The new rating by NerdWallet.com is based on average driver delay (45 minutes), gasoline costs and population density. Last year’s assessment by INRIX Inc. was based on Honolulu’s average of 58 hours stuck in eastbound and westbound congestion on H-1 in 2011.
Whatever the time wasted, NerdWallet opined, "The added traffic from Honolulu’s booming tourist industry makes it hard to get around the city."
Really? Tourists as a major factor in traffic gridlock? Debatable. We’d sooner blame it on the various wacky on- and offramps around town.
