Marco Polo condo fire

Marco Polo condo fire
Date July 14, 2017 (2017-07-14)
Time 2:17pm HAST
Location Honolulu, Hawaii
Coordinates 21°17′14.99″N 157°49′42.53″W / 21.2874972°N 157.8284806°W / 21.2874972; -157.8284806Coordinates: 21°17′14.99″N 157°49′42.53″W / 21.2874972°N 157.8284806°W / 21.2874972; -157.8284806
Type Structure fire
Cause Under investigation
Deaths 3[1]
Non-fatal injuries 13

The Marco Polo condo fire was a fire that occurred at 2:17pm on July 14, 2017 in the 36-story Marco Polo condominum building at 2333 Kapiolani Boulevard in the McCully-Mōʻiliʻili neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii.[2] 3 people were killed, and 13 others (including 1 firefighter) were injured.[3]

Building history

The Marco Polo was completed in 1971.[2] A previous fire in 2013 caused $1.1 million in property damage to two apartments, but no injuries were reported.[3][4]

Fire

A fire was initially reported at 2:17pm on the 26th floor of the building,[3] and spread across a dozen apartments on the 26th, 27th, and 28th floors. The bodies of three victims were found on the 26th floor. The 7-alarm fire required over 120 firefighters and 15 fire engines from the Honolulu Fire Department to respond.[5][6] Firefighters monitored the fire overnight.[2] A shelter for displaced residents was established at ʻIolani School.[3]

Aftermath

More than 200 of the 568 units were damaged.[2][6] No sprinkler system was installed in the Marco Polo building complex which was built in 1971 and four years before sprinklers became mandatory for new construction in Honolulu.[2][7][8] In fact, after a 2013 fire, the Marco Polo building’s association obtained an estimate of $8,000 per condo for installation of sprinklers.[7] This would have cost $4.5 million for the entire complex, but the sprinkler system was never installed.[7] More than 300 high-rises across Oahu are not required to have sprinklers.[7][lower-alpha 1] However, local and Hawai'i lawmakers were considering making sprinklers mandatory on these older complexes.[7] Both Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Hawai'i state senator Glenn Wakai voiced support for sprinkler installation in older high-rises.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ A high-rise is defined as a structure at least 35 metres (115 ft) or 12 stories tall and less than 100 metres (330 ft) or 40 stories tall.[9] As of 2017, Honolulu is ranked 66th in the world with 457 high-rises.[10]

References

  1. ↑ Schaefers, Alison (July 28, 2017). "Hundreds gather to mourn Marco Polo fire victim". Star-Advertiser. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 HNN staff (July 14, 2017). "3 dead, 4 seriously injured in 5-alarm blaze at Honolulu highrise". Hawaii News Now. Honolulu. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Kubota, Gary (July 14, 2017). "3 killed in 5-alarm blaze at Kapiolani Boulevard high rise". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  4. ↑ Hofschneider, Anita (July 14, 2017). "Caldwell Supports Adding Sprinklers To Older High-Rises In Wake Of Fire". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  5. ↑ KHON2 Web staff (July 14, 2017). "3 dead as 5-alarm fire in Marco Polo building declared under control". KHON2. Honolulu. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Star-Advertiser staff (July 27, 2017). "Fire department says Marco Polo blaze was 7-alarm fire". Star-Advertiser. Honolulu. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Kelleher, Jennifer Sinco; Matthews, Karen; Har, Janie; Babwin, Don (July 23, 2017). "Sume urge sprinkler mandates across U.S. after Marco Polo fire". Star-Advertiser. Honolulu. Associated Press. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  8. ↑ Gomes, Andrew (July 15, 2017). "Fire sprinkler cost was deemed prohibitive". Star-Advertiser. Honolulu. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  9. ↑ "High-rise building definition (ESN 18727 )". Emporis. Hamburg, Germany. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Skyline ranking". Emporis. Hamburg, Germany. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
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