Maui fire officials credit fire sprinklers for keeping a blaze from spreading at a year-old Paia restaurant Friday.
At 11:11 a.m., firefighters responded to a reported structure fire at Rock & Brews restaurant, 120 Hana Highway. Firefighters were on the scene two minutes later and saw smoke coming from the restaurant, according to fire officials.
Firefighters found that the fire sprinklers had been activated in the attic space above the restaurant. They entered the ceiling area and had the fire extinguished by 11:27 p.m., officials said.
"It’s a true testament that fire sprinklers really do work and can make a difference to extinguish or slow a fire until fire department arrival, " said Fire Capt. Ben Bland.
The fire was determined to be accidental and caused by a fault in electrical wiring. Damage was estimated at $10,000 to the structure and $10,000 to its contents.
Escape attempt led to lockdown
The state Department of Public Safety lifted an emergency lockdown instituted early Saturday morning when four inmates at the Hawaii Community Correctional Center attempted to escape.
The inmates were arrested on suspicion of attempted escape and criminal property damage.
According to DPS, the inmates used a piece of furniture to ram open a door in their housing unit. They exited the door but were quickly restrained outside their unit by corrections officers.
DPS said the inmates never got outside the facility’s secured perimeter. No injuries were reported.
Regularly scheduled family visits were canceled for the facility, and a lockdown was imposed immediately following the incident.
The lockdown was lifted late Saturday afternoon.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Workers help put out blaze
Maui firefighters got a big assist from Goodfellow Brothers Construction in containing a brush fire on Waiale Road in Wailuku on Friday.
The fire was reported at 1:45 p.m. When Maui Fire Department personnel arrived on scene at 1:53 p.m., they found that personnel from the construction company had already controlled the fire’s spread using two water tankers and a front loader.
The fire was fully extinguished by 3 p.m.
The fire blackened a 50-by-100-foot area of brush on the mauka side of Waiale Road, just south of Kuikahi Drive. No structures were threatened and no injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
