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Hawaii Kai high-rise condo fire kills 2 dogs

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A condo fire in Hawaii Kai displaced residents this afternoon, but no injuries were reported.
Courtesy Laurel Ackerson
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Fire damage is seen at Naniwa Gardens after a condo-unit fire in Hawaii Kai Tuesday evening.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Fire damage is seen at Naniwa Gardens after a condo-unit fire in Hawaii Kai Tuesday evening.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Firefirefighters respond to a building fire at Naniwa Gardens Tuesday evening.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Firefirefighters respond to a building fire at Naniwa Gardens Tuesday evening.

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                                Residents wait outside of Naniwa Gardens Tuesday evening during a building fire in Hawaii Kai.
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GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM

Residents wait outside of Naniwa Gardens Tuesday evening during a building fire in Hawaii Kai.

GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Fire damage is seen at Naniwa Gardens after a condo-unit fire in Hawaii Kai Tuesday evening.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Firefirefighters respond to a building fire at Naniwa Gardens Tuesday evening.
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARADVERTISER.COM
                                Residents wait outside of Naniwa Gardens Tuesday evening during a building fire in Hawaii Kai.

Honolulu firefighters quickly extinguished a high-rise condo building fire in Hawaii Kai that killed two dogs Tuesday evening.

Flames and smoke billowed from a sixth-floor unit of the Naniwa Gardens, at 6750 Hawaii Kai Dr., just before sunset.

The Honolulu Fire Department responded at 5:41 p.m. to find heavy smoke and flames coming from the makai side of the building, which was evacuated.

“I came home from my parents house. … I walked into the apartment, smelled something a little bit smoky, like a grill, but we don’t do grills on the balcony,” said resident Laurel Ackerson, who explained that grilling is prohibited at the complex.

Ackerson, who lives on the 12th floor of the 14-story building, said she grabbed her two cats, Cole and Porter, alerted her neighbor, and they evacuated the building.

HFD responded with 16 fire companies and 63 personnel, with the first unit arriving at 5:45 p.m.

They had the fire under control at 6:18 p.m. and extinguished by 6:45 p.m.

No one was home at the time of the blaze and there were no injuries to building residents, but two dogs in the unit died, HFD said.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services paramedics evaluated two people at the scene but they declined to be taken to a hospital.

The building did not have fire sprinklers, said HFD, which is investigating the fire’s cause.

Ackerson described the smoke as having a chemical smell.

Video she took showed a fire engulfing the balcony of the unit, followed by black smoke.

Volunteers with the American Red Cross are on the scene meeting with affected residents.

Correction: Honolulu Fire Department officials said that Naniwa Gardens does not have fire sprinklers. An earlier version of this story quoted a resident who said it does have sprinklers.
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