1/1
Swipe or click to see more
CINDY ELLEN RUSSELL / JULY 14, 2017
A confidential settlement has been reached in the 2017 deadly Marco Polo high-rise fire, but even the parties involved in a settlement conference Tuesday did not know how much each individual insurance company and other defendants will have to pay.
Select an option below to continue reading this premium story.
Already a Honolulu Star-Advertiser subscriber? Log in now to continue reading.
This week we were reminded that the effects of the tragic 2017 Marco Polo condominium fire continue to reverberate.
On Tuesday, a gaggle of lawyers jammed into Circuit Judge Dean Ochiai’s courtroom for a settlement conference. Details of the confidential settlement are murky, and it’s likely that it will be some time before all legal claims are resolved. But the proceeding was itself a sign of progress: insurance companies and several plaintiffs coming to terms with the seven-alarm fire that led to four deaths and caused an estimated $107 million in damage. Ochiai ordered the defendants to make financial disbursements by Jan. 15; the total amount isn’t public information.
The court proceedings were the latest consequence of the fire, but not the only one. The dramatic blaze, which destroyed 30 units and affected 170 more, prompted much public debate over improving safety for those living in older high-rise residential buildings that were built before sprinkler systems were required — about 360 on Oahu.
The tragedy also prompted an ordinance to impose stricter fire safety regulations on those pre-1970 buildings that are at least 75 feet tall. In May, Mayor Kirk Caldwell signed an updated version. Those buildings will either need to install fire sprinklers or undergo a building and life safety evaluation (Marco Polo condo owners had already voted to install an automatic sprinkler system).
While there are no guarantees, it’s hoped that more effort and more public awareness will make such devastating fires not only rare, but a historical relic.