A large fire engulfed a two-story home in Makiki, displacing three residents and destroying many violins and cellos inside the structure.
The two-alarm fire occurred at the wooden home at 1044 Green St. just before 8:30 a.m. Friday. Nine units and 35 firefighters responded and battled the blaze from all sides of the home to protect other homes and apartment buildings surrounding the structure.
“It was a little challenging,” said acting Honolulu Fire Battalion Chief Keoki Kaalele at the scene. “We had exposures on all sides of the structure, so we had units positioned on all sides of the structure to protect our exposures at that time.”
Resident Kamaile Hopfe, 25, who lives on the third floor of an apartment complex on Thurston Avenue, was awakened by the crackling sounds from the flames. She stepped onto her balcony and saw smoke billowing from the home below.
Hopfe immediately called 911. “That fire spread fast,” she said.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 8:53 a.m. and extinguished it at 9:50 a.m. “The home is considered a total loss,” Kaalele said.
Investigators determined the fire started accidentally when the kitchen stove on the ground floor was inadvertently turned on, igniting combustibles left on top of and near the burners. Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said an occupant accidentally bumped into one of the knobs on the front control panel, turning on the stove.
Damage is estimated at $300,000 to the structure and $200,000 to its contents.
No injuries were reported. The American Red Cross responded to assist the displaced residents.
Garrett Shannon, 23, who has a bedroom on the ground floor, was awakened by the beeping sounds of the smoke alarm. He saw a lot of dark smoke and was able to safely escape the fire.
Soon after, Shannon headed back to the home to rescue his sister’s pit bull mix, Boo Radley, from the second floor.
Flannery Shannon and her boyfriend, Alex Beatty, had lived on the second floor of the home for two years. Shannon, who wasn’t home at the time of the fire, said she received a call from her brother about the blaze.
Beatty, a planner with the city Department of Planning and Permitting, was at work when he heard about the fire. He said he worries whether they’ll be able to find another home in town that’s pet-friendly.
Kurt R. Jones rented space on the ground floor of the structure for his business, Kurt R. Jones Violin Shop LLC, where he built, restored and repaired violins. He lives in a separate home next to the damaged structure.
Jones estimated nearly 20 violins were destroyed in the fire as well as cellos.
“I just finished setting it up a few days ago,” Jones said of his shop as he sat with his dogs atop a low lava rock retaining wall across the street from the damaged home.
Jones, who plays Irish folk music with the Celtic Waves and Whiskey Starship, was out walking his two dogs at the time of the fire. He estimated the value of the violins and cellos destroyed in the blaze at more than $100,000. One of the cellos he just finished building earlier this week was valued at $35,000.
“I’m trying to process how to deal with this,” he said.
Local entertainment personality Lanai Tabura, who lives in a home on a neighboring property, woke up to sounds of someone pounding on his door. People were yelling and screaming outside, he said.
When he saw the fire, Tabura immediately grabbed his garden hose to water down his roof, Jones’ roof and his brother’s black Ford Explorer SUV, parked next to Tabura’s home. Paint on the front edge of the SUV’s hood bubbled from the heat radiating from the large fire.
The fire quickly grew in size, Tabura said, adding, “It happened so fast. It was all flames for the first 20 minutes. I never saw flames that big.”
The fire also scorched the leaves of a towering mango tree behind the damaged home.
Tabura empathized with the residents directly affected by the blaze. “I feel bad they lost everything.”
A GoFundMe page has been created to assist the tenants and raise funds to rebuild the home. Those interested in making a donation can visit bit.ly/2kIkNXg.
Correction: An earlier version of the story misidentified which floor the fire started accidentally. The fire started accidentally when the kitchen stove on the ground floor, not the second floor, was inadvertently turned on.
