When a fire broke out on the 26th floor of a high-rise in Honolulu, it quickly spread throughout the giant complex that was not equipped with sprinklers. The fire at the 36-floor building known as the Marco Polo residences killed at least three people and injured 12. The building that has more than 500 units was built in 1971, before sprinklers were required in high-rise buildings. “Without a doubt if there was sprinklers in this apartment, the fire would be contained to the unit of origin,” Fire Chief Manuel Neves told reporters. Officials confirmed two of the dead were a woman and her adult son. Four of the injured were hospitalized in serious condition.
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Residents who talked to reporters described the scenes of panic and chaos once they realized what was going on. “The fire just blew up and went flying right out the windows,” Karen Hastings, a 71-year-old resident who was in her 31st floor apartment when the fire broke out. “And that was like a horror movie. Except it wasn’t a horror movie, it was for real.” Some residents expressed surprise at learning that their building didn’t have a sprinkler system installed. Yet this was the second major blaze at the complex in less than five years. In January 2013, a fire started in an eighth floor apartment and quickly spread, causing $1.1 million in damage but no injuries.
The fire close to the tourist mecca of Waikiki came a month after at least 80 people were killed in a London apartment building on June 14. The 24-story Grenfell Tower also didn’t have a sprinkler system.
