‘Vacant’ house on Kinau Street burns up

A “vacant” 73-year-old house, sitting on a $2 million Kinau Street property and reportedly occupied by homeless people, went up in flames Tuesday.

The fire was fully involved when firefighters arrived at 1051 Kinau St. four minutes after the 4:12 p.m. alarm. The 2,016-square-foot, two-story house with finished basement, built in 1946, was set for demolition, a fire official said.

Neighbors expressed anger and frustration that the homeless had taken up occupancy, first on the porch, then enclosing the porch, punching out windows and using ladders to enter the upper floor and piling up rubbish in front of the house.

Firefighters said they would wait until daylight today to enter the home, which began to collapse shortly after 6 p.m. as they sprayed the smoldering house, Honolulu Fire Department Battalion Chief Bryan Soares said Tuesday evening.

“Nobody heard anyone screaming for help,” he said, adding there was no credible information someone was still inside, but HFD did receive reports of vagrants going in and out of the house.

HFD sent 12 units with 44 personnel to the two-alarm blaze.

“I saw it when it was flaming, and it was huge — really, really huge,” said Joshua Sayegusa, 73, who lives nearby.

After more than 2-1/2 hours of continuously shooting streams of water from above using a ladder and from the sides of the house, the fire was extinguished.

One firefighter injured his knee while climbing over rubble from a previously demolished structure.

The fire remains under investigation.

Three vehicles in the adjacent apartment building’s parking lot were damaged by fire, and there was smoke damage to the building.

“We’re lucky we had tradewinds that went straight down,” Soares said. “So most of the heat went straight down to the Burger King side of the structure.”

Junior Aisek, 37, who lives in the house next door, said he was asleep, then awoke to a pop. “When we got out, it was already very big. My dad told me he heard people yelling and screaming, and that’s when he saw the fire.”

His home may have sustained smoke damage. “We’re very fortunate it was contained pretty good,” he said.

Police closed off numerous roadways, including portions of South King, Beretania, Kinau and Pensacola streets, causing major traffic tie-ups during rush hour.

Gerard Gonsalves said he has been working with the city to get the homeless out. He said police have assisted some homeless and put them into shelters, but others moved in.

He detailed their use of a ladder to enter the second floor, and sheets to cover the front door.

“The house wasn’t bus’ up like that,” he said. “They take pieces of the house and build with it.”

“They’ve been there for more than a year,” he said. “They basically broke into the house.”

He said the property owner put up a fence but that more homeless people entered and trash is strewn in front of the house.

Kyle Tavares, who lives in a building across the street, said his girlfriend “called me frantic. She said the house was burning. I thought our house was burning, and I freaked out. I came rushing home.”

He said he sees people going in and out of the house, and suspects drug use and possible drug running.

William Braddock, 64, said he’s mostly upset with the property owner. Braddock’s 6-month-old red 2019 Hyundai Accent is effectively totaled, with interior, electrical, front-end and side damage.

“I’m more upset with the landlord for failing to secure the building,” he said.

Braddock said he came out of retirement and that his wife works three part-time jobs to pay for the car.