VIDEO: Residents exited as numerous fire engines responded to a fire on Saturday at a 10-story residential building at 1830 Wilikina Drive (Kemoo By the Lake) in Wahiawa. Joseph Bleuler told Island News, “I was asleep so, I got woken up by a fire alarm, grabbed my wallet and keys, went downstairs. A few other people were already downstairs. Someone was making sure the third floor, where it seemed to have started, was evacuated, then we mostly just waited for the firefighters.”
“I saw flames for a little bit. The firefighter got there right after the flame started being visible,” Bleuler added. Accord to HFD, the first unit reportedly arrived on scene shortly after 10 a.m. Firefighters evacuated the third and fourth floors apartments and helped make sure the fire did not spread to neighboring units. The blaze was fully extinguished just before noon. According the reports, the building may not have sprinklers and there were also other concerns.
“An onsite manager could be really helpful to make sure everyone’s getting evacuated properly and to see if anyone was left behind. Today, there wasn’t anybody left behind because people on the floors were checking. It’s not always the best thing to rely on people to do the smart thing when in a crisis,” said Bleuler. EMS reportedly treated three adult patients on scene who suffered mild smoke inhalation. They declined transport to an emergency room.
