Cause of Marco Polo fire still unknown to public

Nearly two months have passed since the fatal Marco Polo high-rise fire, which caused more than $100 million in damage, yet the cause remains a mystery to the public.

The Honolulu Fire Department has identified Unit 2602 as the place where the blaze originated July 14, killing three neighbors in two separate units on the same floor. A fourth person, who was disabled and waited in her condo on the 32nd floor for four hours for firefighters, died 20 days later.

The department has eliminated arson, cooking and use of a flammable liquid in the ignition of the fire, but the cause has not been released.

“We want to know what happened,” said Jane Sugimura of the Hawaii Council of Apartment Owners at an Aug. 22 City Council hearing on retrofitting older buildings with sprinkler systems. “What happened to Marco Polo has made everybody introspective.”

Honolulu Fire Chief Manuel Neves told Council members at the same meeting that the latest Marco Polo fire damage estimate is $107,340,000. By comparison, he said, there were 111 high-rise fires from 2006 to 2015 on Oahu with a total loss of $4.9 million.

HFD spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said the department has completed several portions of the investigation and is still reviewing and putting the report together. He estimates the investigation will be completed within a few weeks.

More than 80 of the 568 units were damaged in the 36-story building. Thirty units were destroyed.

“It’s surprising they know where it started but they don’t have a cause,” said Bobby Lee, president of the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association. “I’m sure they want to be careful what they put out there, but I think the public has a right to be kept informed.”