The Honolulu Fire Department responded to a house fire in Nuuanu early Sunday morning.
HFD said they were dispatched around 3 a.m. to a single-story home on Kauila Street. When crews arrived on scene, they reported seeing flames moving from under the structure, up the left exterior wall and extending into the attic.
“I could hear everybody screaming, ‘Get out! Get out!’ And there was a big crackling sound," neighbor Rose Duncan said. "It was pretty horrible. So everybody got out and is safe, praise God for that.”
Firefighters began battling the blaze and had it under control around 3:30 a.m. and fully extinguished by 5 a.m.
It was reported that squatters were residing under the home and they were heard prior to the start of the fire, HFD said.
“We have had problems in the past with that building. When I first moved here there were squatters that had lived there for many years,” Duncan added.