Fire deals $1M in damage to nonprofit’s Maui building

Maui fire officials were investigating a fire that caused an estimated $1 million in damage to a unoccupied two-story building in Kahu­lui owned by Easter Seals Hawaii and undergoing renovation.

Fire spokesman Lee Mai­naga said the blaze damaged half the building, while the other half suffered heavy smoke damage.

Easter Seals Hawaii President Chris Blan­chard said his nonprofit group was moving forward with plans to renovate the building and develop a partnership with Imua Services, a group that provides early childhood intervention services, such as speech pathology.

The burned-out building is among two major structures on a Maui property purchased about three years ago, Blan­chard said. The second complex, with three interconnected buildings, provides space for administration and services to about 60 to 70 adults with developmental disabilities.

MELISSA King-Hubert, Easter Seals program manager on Maui, said she was sad about the damage to the building but happy no one was hurt.

King-Hubert said Easter Seals officials planned to assess the damage and figure how to move forward with plans for the site.

She said the fire did not affect the Easter Seals building at Wakea and One­hee avenues that serves the administration and adult services.

"We plan on business as usual (today)," she said.

The fire at 161 S. Wakea Ave., a building that was once the old Maui Pineapple Co. offices, was under control a little more than three hours after the initial call at 6:21 a.m. Monday, fire officials said.

Mainaga said fire crews arrived to find the south end of the building in flames, and that crews from Wai­luku, Kahu­lui and Paia extinguished the fire at 11:52 a.m.