Love, neighbors, optimism see couple through fire

KALAHEO — The days leading to the fire were everything the newlyweds had hoped for.

A beautiful wedding. Their friends and family around them. A camping trip to Kalalau Valley, where they even managed to help a dehydrated hiker.

But by the time Shannon and Enzo Amitrano made it out of the valley and into a cell phone reception zone, the high of their nuptials abruptly dissipated.

“I turned on my phone and it was just blown up,” Enzo said.

At first the texts and messages seemed to be jokes. He’d teased his house guests not to burn up the place.

“Those were my parting words,” he said.

Neither their friends nor their landlady were having a laugh, however.

“Prepare yourself — it’s not pretty,” Shannon recalled her saying.

The fire

On the night of Feb. 28, while the Amitranos camped in the valley and house guests were off enjoying the island, the Amitranos’ Kalaheo home somehow caught fire. The blaze destroyed their kitchen and garage. Smoke and water ruined nearly everything else.

It could have been worse.

Neighbor Luana Ruggiero, a long-term American Red Cross volunteer with a thick New York accent and a way with words, described the fire as a harrowing and “very scary affair.”

At about 8:25 p.m., she heard a large boom from the Amitrano home. By the time she reached her kitchen window, flames had already melted through its roof.

“I just went out the door and started screaming fire,” Ruggiero said.

The 63-year-old then picked up her garden hose — with a special nozzle she’d never thought would be worth its $10 price tag — and started spraying the burning house, as well as her own. Four or five neighbors joined the impromptu fire brigade, while another ran to the local fire station for help.

“We were all out there in our T-shirts,” Ruggiero said.

Firefighters later told them if it hadn’t been for the neighbors jumping into action “this would have been so much worse.”

“They really did take their lives in their hands, I do believe. I’m really proud of my neighborhood,” Ruggiero said.

She also feels bad for her former neighbors.

“Boy, talk about starting your marriage off with a bang.”

According to the county, the cause of the fire remains undetermined. The investigation continues.

Aftermath

The Amitranos, who returned to the house the day before their shared birthday, said it looked like World War II. Still, they are grateful for their neighbors’ and Kaua‘i firefighters’ efforts.

 “It’s just stuff. Nobody died, it didn’t spread throughout the neighborhood — we got each other, baby,” Enzo, 38, said as he sat next to his wife.

Their friends, including Chad Staerkel of Illinois, pulled their few salvageable belongings from the wreckage.

“We have clothing and some knickknacks,” Enzo said.

“I still stink like a campfire and I probably will forever,” Shannon noted.

A skydiving instructor, Enzo lost two parachutes and other equipment. Shannon, a 32-year-old massage therapist who ran her business out of the home, lost most of her supplies, although her massage table survived the fire. They do not have renters’ insurance.

The things they miss the most, however, are photos of their life together — they have been a couple for two years since the night of a full moon over Polihale Beach — and a book of poems Enzo wrote for his bride.

Following the fire, the couple lived in a tent outside of a friend’s home. On Monday night, they moved into a house in Koloa owned by a local firefighter.

“They say you start fresh after your wedding, well, we’re starting fresh,” Enzo said.

The Amitranos don’t have much, but have received some assistance from a number of sources, including nonprofit organizations, local church groups and complete strangers, Shannon said.

“Thank god we have each other and our families and friends and just random acts of kindness that are helping us through this.”

 Anyone interested in helping the Amitranos get back on their feet can mail items to their relief fund at P.O. Box 1256, Lawai, 96765.