An early-morning fire on Wednesday was reported on a high floor of The Howard Hughes Corp.’s $403 million Waiea luxury condominium project under construction in Honolulu’s Kakaako neighborhood.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said fire crews first received a call at 4:57 a.m. about a two-alarm structure fire at 1044 Auahi St. He said the first responders arrived at 5:02 a.m. to find that there was a fire at the upper level of the Waiea project, which has been under construction since last summer.
Rob Centra, senior vice president of design and construction management at Ward Village for The Howard Hughes Corp. (NYSE: HHC), said the fire occurred on the 21st floor of the Waiea project, which will eventually have 36 stories. Centra did not disclose the extent of any damage but did say the fire was not expected to delay construction or push back the building’s planned completion date in late 2016.
The isolated blaze was brought under control by 5:43 a.m. and fully extinguished two minutes later. No injuries were reported, and investigators are working to determine the cause of the fire.
“There were complications, since the building was under construction,” Jenkins told PBN on Wednesday morning. “The standpipe system did not go up to the area that was on fire, so the fire department utilized three fire extinguishers and a utility hose at the site to bring the fire under control.”
A damage estimate was not immediately available.
Darin Moriki
Reporter
Pacific Business News