Male Victim Rescued in Wailea Ekolu Structure Fire

Maui Now graphic by Wendy Osher.

On Monday, Feb. 29, 2016 at 9:26 p.m., firefighters responded to a residential structure fire on Wailea Ekolu Place in South Maui.

Wailea firefighters arrived at 9:33 p.m. to find flames and smoke coming from the first floor unit of a two-story condominium building in the Wailea Ekolu Village.

Once firefighters had flames knocked down at 9:40 p.m., a search was performed to clear the unit of any victims still inside.

Firefighters located and removed an unresponsive adult male found in the bedroom area and immediately began resuscitative efforts.

The 56-year-old male victim was revived by firefighters and paramedics at the scene. The man was transported to Maui Memorial Medical Center in critical condition, but has since been upgraded to stable condition.

Three people were displaced by the fire. One family member was away on a trip, and the other family member was walking home from work and saw the flames coming from their condo. Two cats in the main fire unit on the first floor died in the fire. Two people in the unit above, who were home at the time, called 911 and escaped without injury.

After salvage and mop-up operations, the fire was called under control at 11:06 p.m. and extinguished at 11:13 p.m.

Fire investigators found that the fire started in the kitchen and caused an estimated $300,000 in damages to the structure and $100,000 to contents. The unit above the fire sustained $100,000 in damages to the structure and $50,000 in damage to contents.

The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental, due to cooking materials left unattended on the range. The American Red Cross is reaching out to the families affected by the fire.

Seventeen firefighters and two battalion chiefs from Wailea, Kīhei, Kahului and Lahaina responded to the blaze.