WAILUKU - Fire gutted a vacant two-story residence Saturday afternoon while a youth basketball game was under way in the nearby Wailuku Gym.
No injuries were reported in the blaze that burned the interior of the unoccupied, four-bedroom home at 2055 Pakahi St., according to Fire Services Chief Lee Mainaga.
Wailuku, Kahului and Kihei firefighters responded to the fire, reported at 2:59 p.m., Mainaga said. A fire inspector was called to the scene to investigate.
Article Photos
Firefighters make their way to the scene of a two-story house fire Saturday afternoon in Wailuku. No injuries were reported in the blaze that gutted the unoccupied, 1,400-square-foot home.
The Maui News / BRIAN PERRY photo
Wailuku resident Mona Ordono had been at the Wailuku Gym, watching her 11-year-old twins, a boy and girl, play in a basketball game.
"They just finished the game when we heard the sirens," she said.
Ordono and her husband, Vicente, went outside to see flames coming out of a top-floor window.
Vicente Ordono said he believed the fire started upstairs.
"I hope nobody's home," he said.
At least 40 people were inside the gym when the fire broke out, he said. And more people were arriving for the next game.
The fire was under control at 3:58 p.m. and extinguished at 4:50 p.m., Mainaga said.
Damage to the 1,400-square-foot structure was estimated at $280,000 to the structure and $30,000 to its contents, he said.
The fire's cause remained under investigation Saturday evening.
