Waipahu duplex sustains $320K in damage from fire

Damage to a duplex gutted by an early morning fire in Waipahu Thursday was estimated at more than $300,000, according to a Honolulu Fire spokesman.

Damage to the home at 94-832 Awanei St. was estimated at $305,000 to the structure and $15,000 to its contents. Capt. Scot Seguirant, spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department, said the structure did not have any working smoke alarms.

The cause of the fire is still pending.

The fire occurred at about 2 a.m., forcing two men to escape their residence.

Resident Robert Morano of unit H said he was sleeping in his living room when he woke up and observed flames outside emanating from the adjacent unit G and winds fanning the fire toward his home.

Residents of unit G were on vacation in the Philippines and scheduled to return to Hawaii the day the fire broke out.

“I told my brother get out of the house. The house is burning,” Morano said.

His younger brother, Jubert Morano, saw flames under the eaves as he and his brother ran out of the duplex.

The younger Morano sustained minor cuts to his left hand and wrist when he climbed over a fence to escape the blaze.

Ten units with 35 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire. When they arrived, they found the duplex fully engulfed in flames, Seguirant said.

The fire also damaged at least one van parked in front of the home.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control at 2:58 a.m. and extinguished it just before 3:15 a.m.

Zeph MacNaughton, 73, who resides in a duplex behind the Moranos, grabbed a garden hose and shot water on their home as well as his home in an effort to prevent the flames from spreading.

Emergency Medical Services treated MacNaughton for smoke inhalation. He refused further treatment.

MacNaughton’s home and an adjacent unit where a family including a baby and a child reside sustained smoke damage from the blaze.

Altogether, about 15 people were displaced. Volunteers of the American Red Cross were at the scene to assist affected residents.

Though the blaze destroyed Robert Morano’s home, he said he and his brother are grateful that they were able to escape the fire relatively unscathed. “We’re just blessed that we’re alive.”