By Alfred Acenas and Ron Hamilton
EBC Hawaii Bureau
HONOLULU, Hawaii (Eagle News) —At least three people were killed after a massive fire hit a high-rise in Honolulu on Friday, July 14.
Honolulu Fire Department Chief Manuel P. Neves confirmed that three individuals were found on the 26th floor of the Marco Polo, one of Honolulu’s largest condominium buildings, also a familiar landmark just outside Waikiki.
This was after the structure was hit by a massive fire around 2:30 p.m., Hawaiian time.
“So that’s the floor of the original of the fire,” he said.
“We’re going door to door to see if there are other folks. We are not sure exactly what the total count is right now,” he added.
Outsiders could see the flames becoming visible from the 26th floor before they reached the 27th and 28th floors while towers of black smoke billowed further up and out of one of the fire escape stairways inside.
The apartments where the fire originated were facing toward the Pacific Ocean.
Built in 1969, the 36-story structure was not equipped with fire emergency sprinklers.
Despite what would have been a busy rush-hour afternoon commute, a stretch of Kapiolani Boulevard along the north side of the apartment complex had to be closed off to make way for first responders, to include ambulances provided by local entities and even the Federal Government.
The blaze–which reached the fifth alarm— summoned over 100 firefighters, an equivalent of 30 battalions.
Residents and bystanders described chaos, fear, and panic as evacuees worked their way down dozens of flights of stairs.
Some were senior citizens and disabled who had no choice but to rush along with the others to avoid being engulfed in the smoke.
One eyewitness who lived near one of the affected apartments claimed to have heard women screaming for help and noticed the screaming had stopped.
He welled up in tears while being interviewed by local media.
Meanwhile, the American Red Cross responded to the scene by providing water, chairs, and blankets, while volunteers came to aid and comfort the evacuees.
In an interview with Hawaii News Now, Coralie Matayoshi, head of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Red Cross, explained that her team had set up a temporary shelter and aid stations at nearby Ala Wai Elementary School and Iolani School.
She also assured that more volunteers and material support are expected in the coming days.
Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell was also on site to assess the situation, making sure the fire was contained as quickly as possible and the evacuees properly sheltered.
He said in a Twitter post that the fire was placed “under control” just before 7 p.m., Hawaiian time.