Date: March 20, 2019
Location: Waialua, Hawaii (USA)
Address: 67-106 Kealohanui Street, 96791
Type: Potential Dust Fire
Fuel: Wood Dust
Industry: Wood Processing (Wood and Wood Products)
Equipment: Unknown
Company: Old Waialua Sugar Mill
Database Incidents: None Recorded
Loss: No Injuries
Capital Cost: $1.2 million
Status: Open
Confirmation: Unconfirmed
Company Description:
According to its Wikipedia entry, the Old Waialua Sugar Mill is a historical sugar refinery in the town of Waialua on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. It was founded in 1865 and, after some initial difficulties, went on to produce 8% of the sugar in Hawaii as the Waialua Sugar Company, a subsidiary of the Dole Food Company. It finally closed in 1996 due to profit concerns and currently serves as an industrial park for the North Shore of Oahu. The mill building itself is used for wood processing.
Incident Description:
On March 20, 2019, KITV reported a fire at a former sugar mill building in Waialua, Hawaii.
When the first of four firefighting units from Honolulu arrived at 3:10 p.m., they found smoke and fire involved in half of the one-storey warehouse. According to Hawaii News Now, a witness reported that the flames were nearly as tall as a 50-foot cylinder in the background.
A spokesman for the Honolulu Fire Department said at least 46 firefighters from 14 units responded to the incident. They brought the fire under control at 4:29 p.m. and extinguished it at 5:34 p.m.
The fire is believed to have started in a wood shop inside the warehouse. No injuries were reported, but damage was estimated at $1,012,500 to the structure and $180,000 to its contents.
Sources:
KITV
