Man’s body found, suspect is arrested in Kalihi home fire

A man’s body was found Monday in the aftermath of a Kalihi Valley residential fire that police say was deliberately set.

Police arrested a 58-year-old man, a tenant, on suspicion of first-degree arson and second-degree murder.

Homicide Lt. Phillip Lavarias said both the suspect and the victim lived at the multiunit house, but a motive has yet to be determined.

The victim’s name has yet to be released by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

At about 1:52 a.m. firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire at 2934 Kalihi St. When fire crews arrived, they observed heavy smoke and flames.

Nine residents safely escaped the fire. No injuries were reported.

“It’s amazing more people didn’t get injured,” Lavarias said. “Everybody is sleeping at 2 a.m. Well over 10 people lived there.”

Lavarias said the suspect attacked one of the responding firefighters.

Firefighters and a witness detained the suspect until police arrived. The witness told law enforcement that he saw the 58-year-old man pour a flammable liquid in one of the bedrooms.

A total of 52 firefighters brought the fire under control at 2:21 a.m., according to Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Kevin Mokulehua in a news release. Fire crews searched for an occupant reported missing and found the body of a man inside the structure.

Mokulehua said firefighters extinguished the fire at the wooden structure at 3:36 a.m. Damage to the structure and its contents was estimated at $240,000.

Detectives and fire inspectors are continuing their investigation.

Angel Baldonado, 22, who lives directly across from the unit where the fire broke out, said she heard sounds from a smoke detector going off for a couple of minutes. There are eight units on the property, she said.

After sounds from the smoke detector stopped, she heard people arguing, followed by shouts of “Fire!”

When Baldonado opened her front door, she saw flames engulfing the unit about 10 feet away from her door.

“I can feel the heat,” she said.

Baldonado safely escaped with her pets.

“I was really scared,” she added as she stood across the street from the structure Monday morning.

She recalled how she saw tenants trying to detain the suspect before firefighters arrived.

The American Red Cross is assisting Baldonado and other residents affected by the fire.

According to state records, the 58-year-old man has a criminal record of drinking in a public area and contempt of court.