On September 7, 2025, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at 9:28 a.m. for a three-alarm building fire located at 922 Austin Lane in Kalihi and responded with 15 units staffed with 57 personnel. While en route, the first responding officer upgraded the incident to a second-alarm fire due to the heavy smoke column visible. The first unit arrived on scene at 9:34 a.m. to find a working fire with heavy smoke emanating from the front of a single-story commercial building.

Fire fighters secured multiple fire hydrants for a water supply, initiated an aggressive interior fire attack with handlines, and quickly reported water on the fire at 9:39 a.m. Attack lines were stretched to the main body of the fire in the unit, but due to the heavy fire load and high-stacked combustible materials, fire streams were unable to reach the seat of the fire. Handlines were then advanced to attack the fire that remained on the upper mezzanine level of the unit. Again, they were halted due to structural issues and heavy loads of combustible materials. Because of the uncertainty of the structural integrity of the mezzanine and the unusually heavy fire load hazard, the Incident Commander changed strategy from an offensive to a defensive approach, removing all fire fighters and hose lines from the interior of the building. The fire was so intense that it breached the roof a short time after at 10:07 a.m. The fire attack continued from the exterior of the building with aerial ladder master streams sending a high volume of water into the roof’s opening. The effectiveness of the exterior attack and positioning of fire streams was monitored by the HFD’s Drone 1 and its thermal imaging capability. The heat signature readings that were captured from above the fire provided critical information to determine if the fire was being cooled or if fire streams needed to be repositioned.

It was reported that no one was in the commercial building when the fire started. With the assistance of the Honolulu Police Department, all occupants in the adjacent residential building were evacuated and assembled in a safe area away from the incident. Overhaul techniques were performed to remove and extinguish smoldering materials and look for hidden fires in void spaces to ensure the fire did not extend into other units of the building. The fire was declared under control at 3:14 p.m. and extinguished at 6:13 p.m. All HFD personnel were accounted for with no reports of injuries

An investigation has been initiated to determine the fire’s origin and cause and to provide damage estimates. An update will be sent out once the final investigation report is complete.