A 66-year-old woman died after a large fire engulfed her home in Waianae early Tuesday.
The resident was the sole occupant of the single-story home at the time of the blaze, according to the
Honolulu Fire Department.
The woman’s name has yet to be released by the
Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office. A neighbor said the resident’s first name is Isabelle.
City property records show Isabella P.K. Wood as the property owner of the four-bedroom, two-bath home, built in 1968.
More than 35 firefighters responded to the two-alarm fire that broke out at the residence at 85-571 Momona Place just before 12:40 a.m.
Upon arrival they found heavy black smoke and large flames emanating from all four sides of the structure and a large quantity of propane tanks against the back of the home, the Fire Department said.
Charles Cobb-Adams III, 38, who lives next door, said he was in his bedroom when his nephew Gage Cobb-Adams Ramos alerted him of the fire. “You could hear a lot of popping sounds and kind of like small explosions,” he said, adding he also heard what sounded like glass, possibly jalousie windows, breaking.
His nephew immediately called 911, and the pair, along with Cobb-Adams’ father, grabbed garden hoses and shot water at the flames until firefighters arrived.
Cobb-Adams recalled his nephew saying he heard the woman next door scream, “Oh my God, fire, fire, help, fire!”
Large flames coming out of the home from all sides of the structure prevented neighbors from entering the residence. “It was like an inferno,” Cobb-Adams said of the house fire, saying three dogs ran out of the burning residence. “Everything melted. Everything burned.”
Firefighters cooled propane tanks and knocked down the flames before they entered the home and located an unresponsive woman inside.
Another neighbor, Charity Abraham, 49, watched firefighters carry the woman out of the burning residence and administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Emergency Medical Services personnel treated the woman and took her in critical condition to a hospital where she died.
“So sad, very very sad,” Abraham said as she recalled friendly waves she exchanged with her petite neighbor when she drove by her home in a pickup truck. “I was just hoping she’s OK.”
Neighbors say the woman worked at Walmart in Kapolei and lived alone. She also made wine from a grapevine on her property.
Cobb-Adams said he talked story with her every now and then. “Very nice lady.”
EMS also treated a 17-year-old neighbor for smoke exposure.
Firefighters brought
the blaze under control at 1:23 a.m. and extinguished it at 2:25 a.m.
Damage to the structure and its contents is estimated at $365,000. The Fire Department said the cause of the fire has been classified as undetermined. There were no working smoke alarms in the home.
A pickup truck and a light-colored sedan scorched by the flames were observed in the charred carport.
