Maui Fire Department crews responded to 35 alarms in the 24 hours from 7 a.m. Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday - a moderate number for New Year's Eve.
Two teenagers were reported to have been burned when fireworks exploded in the back of a pickup truck in Wailuku. Their condition could not be determined.
Of the 35 calls to which firefighteres were dispatched, 14 found fires.
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The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo
Fireworks light up Kihei’s Aluna Place on Thursday night as revelers give the new year an explosive welcome. Maui Fire Department crews responded to 35 emergency calls Thursday — a relatively quiet New Year’s Eve for firefighters.
A small structure on East Kuiaha Road was destroyed by the time a truck reached the area. The approach was steep, so the crew had to use its small truck to get to the fire.
Firefighters described the building as a shed or storeroom, although neighbors said someone had been living there. The occupant, if any, was absent when the fire started.
There was a two-acre brush fire above Keawe Street in Lahaina, and a miscellany of small fires, including in an abandoned car and an abandoned boat.
Fire officials said that many or most of the blazes probably were caused by fireworks, although no definite cause was known for most of them.
Besides the teens who were reported to be burned, there was one call from someone affected by smoke. Fire officials said there were likely more people (and pets) bothered by smoke, but only one person called 911.
Cases of smoke inhalation attributed to fireworks handled at the hospital emergency room are required to be reported to the Department of Health, but the comprehensive report for the state will not be ready for a week or two.
No dollar estimate of damages was available.
On Oahu, fireworks-related celebrations are being blamed for at least 20 fires, including small wildfires, rubbish fires and vehicle fires.
Honolulu emergency medical service workers were dispatched to at least two reports of fire-related injuries, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.
More fireworks permits were issued this year on Oahu than last, reversing a three-year decline. Satellite city halls reported sales of 8,055 firecracker permits in 2009. In 2008, 6,924 were issued.
* The Associated Press contributed to this report
