3 displaced after fire tears through high-rise apartment building near Ala Moana Center

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Flames erupted from a high-rise apartment building near Ala Moana Center on Thursday morning, sending thick smoke billowing into the air.

According to the Honolulu Fire Department, the call came in just before 9 a.m. for a two-alarm building fire at the Woodrose Condominium building at 780 Amana Street and Kanunu Street.

Eleven units, staffed with nearly 45 personnel, arrived on scene to find flames coming from Unit 1401 of a 19-story apartment building.

HFD said the three occupants were not home at the time. A neighbor said they are safe and staying with family. Residents of the damaged units above and below the fire unit were not home either.

Viewer footage sent to Hawaii News Now showed thick smoke billowing in the area. Residents also reported smelling smoke from as far away as Kakaako.

Dozens of residents in the building say it was a very scary moment and rushed to evacuate..

“I was eating breakfast. And then I just hear glass shattering,” said Kevin Choe, who lives on the 6th floor. “When I got out and saw smoke, I told my mom and dad. And that’s when the alarm sounded. Everyone was going downstairs in a hurry. Yeah, it was pretty scary.”

It happened so fast, Kevin Choe grabbed the first shoes he could find -- a slippah and black shoe.

The fire shut down the elevator -- forcing kupuna like Myrtle to take 18 flights of stairs down to the ground.

“I was panicking inside,” she said.

EMS treated a 98 year old male resident who had a cut on his arm and transported him to the hospital in stable condition. No other injuries were reported.

“We’re just fortunate that there was no victims found, you know, these kinds of situations, these kinds of things can be rebuilt. But, you know, lives are something that we cannot replace,” Battalion Chief Brady Perreira said.

Residents say the building has a manual fire alarm system and units should have their own smoke alarms.

HFD said the building does not have a sprinkler system. .

“I thought there was but apparently everyone said only the alarm went off. We just got installed a fire alarm system,” said Cora, who rushed home from work when friends sent her videos of the fire.

“I was worried about my cat. Because then when animals smell smoke, they panic,” she said. “Then my neighbor because when I saw the footage, it was on the side my friend is on and then her father can’t walk. So I was a wreck.”

“Bless these firemen. They’re heroes. They’re unreal. And they got out so they got the fire under control so fast,” she said.

The American Red Cross was called to help residents of the three damaged units.

HFD is still investigating the cause as well as damage estimates. Honolulu police blocked off a portion of Keeaumoku Street and surrounding roads during the investigation but has since reopened the area.

This story will be updated.