Fire displaces three

WAIMEA — Kalehua Yokotake and her family are looking for a place to stay after a fire ignited in their home and displaced them on Wednesday evening.

It caused about $5,000 worth of damage. The Kauai Fire Department is still investigating the cause, but Yokotake says it was most likely an electrical fire.

“A surge protector blew and then the room caught on fire,” she said.

The house is a two-story, multi-family residence. The fire was contained to one room, but smoke damage has made the bottom floor of the house unlivable, at least temporarily, according to the American Red Cross.

Yokotake says she was just getting back to the Waimea home from work, with her 4-month-old baby Akoni in tow, when she heard an explosion at about 7 p.m.

“The window had exploded out,” she said. “I had my son, so I had to just move away from the house. But, I also had to get my dog.”

Other residents in the house put out the fire using two dry-chemical fire extinguishers, according to a County of Kauai news release.

Smoke filled the bottom floor of the residence and Yokotake’s pitbull was inside her room at the time. The dog was saved by firefighters.

“They had to break down the door to get him out,” Yokotake said.

Preliminary KFD reports say firefighters arrived on scene at approximately 7:15 p.m. and were waved down by bystanders. They didn’t initialy notice fire in the structure, according to the report, but did see light traces of smoke from the residence.

Upon entering the house, they found the room where the fire started. Firefighters left the scene at 8 p.m.

“That household doesn’t have a place to stay and we’re working with them,” said Padraic Gallagher, director of disaster services with Kauai American Red Cross. “She’s also contacted Catholic Charities because she can’t go home.”

Yokotake says the smoke-filled floor of the house smells toxic. She, her boyfriend and baby are looking for somewhere else to live until it’s deemed livable.

“I can’t bring my 4-month-old back in there,” she said. “Red Cross got us a room for the first night, but we’re looking for somewhere to stay.”

The upstairs floor of the residence remains livable, and no injuries were reported.

For more information, or to help, call the American Red Cross at 245-4919.

•••

Jessica Else, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or jelse@thegardenisland.com.