On February 26, 2026, the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) received a 911 call at 1:32 p.m. for a building fire near 94-1048 Awalai Street in Waipahu and responded with 14 units staffed with 49 personnel. While en route to the scene, the first responding officer observed smoke visible and upgraded the incident to a second-alarm, requesting additional resources. The first unit arrived on scene at 1:38 p.m. and encountered heavy smoke and flames engulfing a small, single-story residential structure with a partially collapsed carport. Due to the intensity of the fire, flames extended to and ignited the exterior of the adjacent homes. Upon confirming that three homes were involved, the officer upgraded the incident to a third-alarm.
Fire fighters secured a water supply and initiated an aggressive defensive fire attack on the primary residence, which was fully engulfed in flames and had a partially collapsed carport. Crews simultaneously conducted aggressive fire suppression operations at the adjacent homes on both sides of the primary structure, which were also affected by the fire. The fire involving three homes in total were extinguished at 3:58 p.m. Primary and secondary searches of the structure confirmed that no occupants were present at the time of the incident. Two pet dogs and one tortoise were located and successfully rescued from the fire and are currently recovering. Fire fighters conducted overhaul operations to identify and extinguish smoldering materials and to check for hidden fire within void spaces, ensuring the fire had not extended to other areas of the homes.
All HFD personnel were accounted for with no reports of injuries. However, three adults from the area were experiencing difficulty breathing and needed medical attention. Their medical care was transferred to the Emergency Medical Services unit that was on scene. The American Red Cross was notified to assist the seventeen displaced adults who resided in the three homes.
An investigation has been initiated to determine the fire’s origin and cause as well as to provide damage estimates. An update will be sent out once the final investigation report is complete.