At least three people died as dozens of firefighters battled a multiple-alarm fire in a Honolulu high-rise apartment building just outside Waikiki today.
The blaze at the Marco Polo apartments started on the 26th floor and spread to at least the 27th floor and several units, said Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt David Jenkins. He said the number of fatalities could change.
Firefighters say there were reports of people trapped in their units in the burning building.
The high-rise has 568 apartments and four commercial spaces. Paramedics treated several injured people and at least two people were sent to the hospital in serious but stable condition.
Troy Yasuda, who lives in a building across the street, was giving water to people who evacuated. "They were choking from the smoke," he said, adding that people told him they evacuated through dark stairwells.
Police were yelling through megaphones for people still inside to come down, Yasuda said. He watched as people were carried out.
"It's been an orderly evacuation," said security guard Leonard Rosa, who was answering phones from the front lobby of the 31-story building near Waikiki. Police and firefighters were going door-to-door, he said.
Firefighters were checking on reports that there were people trapped in their units, Jenkins said.
Fourth-floor resident Aaron Dengler and his wife were helping their elderly neighbor get to an aid station the American Red Cross set up at a nearby park. "It doesn't help to just stand and watch," he said.
About two hours after the fire started it looked like flames were getting bigger and it looked like the blaze was reaching the 28th floor, Dengler said. "People are getting kind of nervous now," he said. "It's worrisome."
One resident who declined to give his name said he made it to safety after climbing the stairs from the 29th floor. The man said there was so much smoke, he could hardly see.
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