Honolulu firefighters extinguish garage fire in Waimanalo

The Honolulu Fire Department this morning extinguished a fire at a single-story home in Waimanalo that required nine HFD units staffed with 34 personnel.

HFD reports receiving a 911 call about a fire at 41-1441 Kuhimana St. at 9:14 a.m. The first firefighters arrived at 9:19 a.m. to find heavy flames and smoke emanating from the home’s garage. No one was found in the home, which according to several real estate websites was listed for sale for $300,000 and was in tear-down condition.

The fire was brought under control at 10:07 a.m. and was quickly extinguished. There were no reports of injuries to HFD personnel.

The fire is under investigation to determine the cause and to provide damage estimates. Additional information will be available once the investigation is completed.

HFD offers the following fire safety tips:

>> Make a home fire escape plan and practice at least twice a year.

>> Install smoke alarms on every level of your home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas. Interconnect smoke alarms throughout the home. When one sounds, they all sound.

>> Test smoke alarms at least once a month and replace batteries once a year or when the alarm “chirps” to tell you the battery is low. Replace any smoke alarm that is more than 10 years old.

>> If you are building or remodeling your home, install residential fire sprinklers. Sprinklers can contain and may even extinguish a fire in less time than it would take the fire department to arrive.