The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s Office identified a couple found dead at their Makiki home after a large fire ravaged the residence on Feb. 23 as Daniel K. Ching and his wife, Patricia Y. Ching.
Both were 76 years old. The cause of their deaths is pending.
Ten units with nearly 40 firefighters responded to a two-alarm fire at 962-B Spencer St. just before 12:50 p.m. Feb. 23. When crews arrived, the two-story structure was already engulfed in flames, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.
Firefighters battled the blaze and found Daniel “Danny” Ching just outside the home under the exterior staircase of the residence and his wife, Patricia “Patti” Ching, in a bedroom on the ground floor.
Crews extinguished the fire at 1:40 p.m.
The Fire Department classified the fire as accidental. Fire investigators determined the cause of the fire was an unattended portable cooking burner, and the origin of the fire was the exterior porch of a makeshift cooking area.
Damage to the structure and contents was estimated at $539,000 and at $4,000 for other losses.
Family members are grieving over the couple’s death.
“Our family is completely devastated and heartbroken. Living in Singapore for the past 15 years, I barely got the chance to meet them, especially with the (COVID-19) lockdown. But the time I got to spend with them was something I treasured the most,” granddaughter Sara Ching said in a GoFundMe page she created to help cover funeral expenses and establish an educational program for kupuna on fire safety awareness.
“They were funny, caring, and the most loving people I’ve ever had the fortune of knowing,” said Ching, noting her grandparents were high school sweethearts.
She recalled how her grandfather often told her stories of the time he served in the Vietnam War, and her grandmother always boosted her confidence when she felt dispirited.
Neighbors described the couple as nice and friendly.
The GoFundMe page can be found at 808ne.ws/danielandpatriciaching.
