Firefighters battle early morning blaze at historic Boyd-Irwin Estate in Maunawili
Honolulu firefighters battled an early morning fire today at the historic Boyd-Irwin Estate, better known as The Queen’s Retreat, in Maunawili.
The Honolulu Fire Department was called to the fire, which was on a remote part of Maunawili Road, at about 2:50 a.m. The first arriving HFD unit, staffed with four personnel, reported that the estate had sustained extreme fire damage, collapsing on itself and had burnt till nothing was left except for the chimney. Two additional units were requested to assist with extinguishment and water supply.
Firefighters also battled a fire in a wildland area, which was approximately 50 feet by 100 feet, that was adjacent to the destroyed home. These fires were brought under control at 3:18 a.m. and extinguished at 7:22 a.m.
Four HFD units, staffed with approximately 12 personnel, returned to the site at 11:18 a.m. to extinguish a very tall smoldering albizia tree that could have potentially fallen onto the Maunawili Trail. They set up a water shuttling operation and concluded fire fighting operations just after 6 p.m.
HFD said an investigator has ruled the cause of the fire as undetermined. There were no injuries, but a damage estimate is pending.