HFD: Overnight blaze that tore through Kakaako warehouse deemed accidental

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - An overnight blaze that tore through a Kakaako warehouse on Wednesday was deemed accidental, the Honolulu Fire Department said.

Fire officials said the fire was caused by an inadvertently turned on appliance used to melt surfboard wax off a board.

According to the department, the ignition of a surfboard and surrounding combustible fuels subsequently spread to the rest of the warehouse.

Investigators said the damage estimate is over $3.3 million to the property and over $1.2 million to the contents — total damages is over $4.5 million.

They added the dollar loss amounts are for the entire property and the entirety of contents for two businesses impacted by the fire.

One of them: Used Surfboards Hawaii. The other is the island-favorite Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks.

‘We lost everything’: Popular island snacks business left devastated by warehouse fire

Honolulu Fire Department crews responded to the incident at around 1:30 a.m. at a structure located on Coral Street and Queen Street.

“We made an aggressive interior fire attack. Reportedly surf boards were being stored in this warehouse. The fire spread really quickly and it reached the rooftop. Then we exited the building and changed our strategy to a more defensive approach,” HFD Capt. Malcom Medrano said.

Officials said firefighters used high-volume fire streams from 100-foot extended aerial ladders, truck-mounted nozzles and handlines.

Residents who live nearby said smoke and flames could be seen emanating from the building.

Honolulu Emergency Medical Services said there are no patients at the scene.

HFD said the fire was extinguished just before 7 a.m.

No injuries or fatalities were reported.

For Lin’s Hawaiian Snacks, a GoFundMe account has been set up to help with recovery expenses.

This story will be updated.

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