Woman in critical condition after suffering severe burns in a Maui fire

A Maui woman was rushed to the hospital after suffering major burns in a building fire Saturday afternoon. The fire happened just before 4:20 p.m. at a structure in Kahoma Valley. Fire crews from Lahaina and Napili rushed to the scene. Upon their arrival, they found a small one-story structure had burned to the ground. A 47-year-old woman who lived in the structure was found with severe burns to more than half of her body, the Maui Fire Department said. The woman was initially treated by firefighters and medics before being taken to the Maui Memorial Medical Center via Maui Medevac in critical condition. The fire was brought under control by 4:50 p.m. The fire has been ruled accidental with a specific cause not yet clear. Damages were estimated at $8,000 to the structure and its contents.
KINE-FM

Residential ‘Shack’ Destroyed in Eden Roc Fire

Hawai‘i Island firefighters arrived at the scene of a structure fire at 11-1744 Ohelo St. in the Kea‘au Fire District in Eden Roc on March 24, 2019, at 4:10 a.m. Upon arrival, firefighters found an un-permitted, small, single-story, 12-by-20-foot shack-type structure with a tarp roof with contents fully involved in fire. The structure was located on uncleared land with another shack-type structure on the property. The fire was contained to the already involved structure and surrounding brush. The fire was extinguished and overhauled at 5 a.m. Hawai‘i Police Department officers were on scene. HELCO was not advised, as no power lines went to this structure. Hawai‘i Fire Department units returned to quarters after overhaul and wet down of surrounding brush.
Big Island News

Follow-up: Hawaii Fire Fighters Association claims ’inadequate training’ is putting lives on the line

In June 2016 a routine exercise off Diamond Head goes terribly wrong. Veteran firefighter Clifford Rigsbee sustains blunt force injuries while being towed at the back of a watercraft. The incident kills Rigsbee, a seasoned triathlete. Union president Bobby Lee says Rigsbee's death shook up fellow firefighters. A number expressing fear because they felt they weren't getting enough training in the water. "We found out that there was actually more incidents, more accidents prior to Cliff's death that were similar in nature," Bobby Lee, President of the Hawaii Fire Fighters Association said. According to the Department, firefighters are required to undergo ten hours of training every three months. However, Lee says most of it isn't spent in the water. "It can be jet ski maintenance it can be classroom time just reviewing policy procedures," Lee said. "You could have individuals that don't even hit the water within that quarter or only a couple of hours."
KITV-TV ABC 4 Honolulu

Update: Cause undetermined in Waialua Sugar Mill fire

A fire at the old Waialua Sugar Mill this afternoon caused an estimated $1.2 million in damage, fire investigators found. Fire damages include an estimated $1,012,500 to the structure and $180,000 to its contents. No cause has yet been determined, the Honolulu Fire Department said tonight in a news release. “It was reported that no one was inside the structure at the time of the fire,” HFD said. No one was injured in the three-alarm fire. An hour after the first alarm, HFD was continuing to relocate and send additional personnel. Firefighters brought the blaze this afternoon under control in an hour and a half. The fire personnel first on scene found that half of a one-story warehouse was involved with smoke and flames. It was being used as a wood mill, HFD said. The first alarm was at 3:04 p.m. The first unit arrived at 3:10 p.m. and was brought under control at 4:29 p.m.
Honolulu Star-Advertiser