A kitchen fire caused $50,000 in damages to a two-story Kihei home Saturday evening, according to a fire official.
At 7:44 p.m. Saturday, fire crews responded to a call about a kitchen fire at a home on Eleu Place, Fire Services Chief Ed Taomoto said. Firefighters were on scene at 7:51 p.m. and found a small fire in the kitchen area of the residence. All of the occupants were out of the house. Crews brought the fire under control at 8:18 p.m. and extinguished it at 8:25 p.m.
A 14-year-old boy was the only person home at the time and discovered the fire on the kitchen stove, Taomoto said. He tried but couldn’t extinguish the flames, which had already spread to the microwave and cabinets above. The boy evacuated the home and dialed 911.
The fire was caused by unattended food left on the stove and was ruled accidental, Taomoto said. It caused an estimated $30,000 in damages to the structure and $20,000 to the contents. No one was injured.