KILAUEA — A fire early Thursday morning destroyed the Kula Elementary School’s first-grade classroom, causing officials to cancel school yesterday. The fire, at 4480 Ho’okui Rd., adjacent to Kuhio Highway in Kilauea, caused an estimated $95,000 in damage, according to
KILAUEA — A fire early Thursday morning destroyed the Kula Elementary School’s first-grade classroom, causing officials to cancel school yesterday.
The fire, at 4480 Ho’okui Rd., adjacent to Kuhio Highway in Kilauea, caused an estimated $95,000 in damage, according to county officials.
But the blaze did not spread to another classroom, which was connected and only about 10 feet away.
“I’m happy it didn’t spread,” said Michael Dyer, the property’s owner, who also owns Kilauea Real Estate that sits next to the school.
“If the wind was blowing normal trades, the fire could’ve carried down the deck (which connects the two classrooms) and spread to other buildings,” he said. “It could’ve been a lot worse.”
He added that the county’s estimate, he hopes, is probably too high.
Kula Elementary’s campus is the former Na Kamalei elementary school. The Kula High & Intermediate Campus is at Waipake, and wasn’t impacted by the fire.
When Kaua’i Fire Department inspectors David Bukoski, Daryl Date, and Russell Yee sifted through the charred remains Thursday afternoon, looking for evidence of the cause, only the frame and one wall were still standing.
Charred wood, clothes, and classroom equipment were piled up in the middle of the room as roosters picked at the wreckage.
A tree which stands between the two connected buildings was charred on one side of the trunk, and branches were scarred at least 25 feet off the ground. The other side of the trunk lay unscathed less than five feet from the roof of the undamaged classroom.
The approximately 15-year-old building will have to be demolished and rebuilt, said Dyer.
Although the fire is an inconvenience, it could have been much worse.
“We’re lucky they caught it when they did,” said Jeff Lindner, president of Kula Schools, but “we are one classroom short right now. It’s totaled.”
School was canceled yesterday, and will remain closed until KFD investigators and insurance evaluators finish their separate investigations.
The building was on the same electrical line as three other classrooms, so there will be no electricity in them for awhile.
KFD officials, responding from Hanalei-Princeville and Kapa’a stations, received the call at 12:47 a.m., and extinguished the blaze at 1:08 a.m.
Lindner said the fire was reported by a neighbor.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Staff Writer Tom Finnegan may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or mailto:tfinnegan@pulitzer.net.
