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-M??ili?ili neighborhood of Honolulu, Hawaii. 4 people were killed, and 13 others (including 1 firefighter) were injured. Over 200 units were damaged or destroyed giving the destruction of the building at more than $100 million. Additionally, concern about the abatement of asbestos, which was built into the Marco Polo structure, is under investigation by the state of Hawai'i's Department of Health and Department of Labor's workplace safety division.
Video Marco Polo condo fire
Building history
The Marco Polo was completed in 1971. A previous fire in 2013 caused $1.1 million in property damage to two apartments, but no injuries were reported.
Maps Marco Polo condo fire
Fire
A fire was initially reported at 2:17pm on the 26th floor of the building, and spread across a dozen apartments on the 26th, 27th, and 28th floors. The bodies of three victims were found on the 26th floor. A fourth victim, who lived 6 floors above the origin of the blaze, had been hospitalized due to smoke inhalation, but died 20 days later on August 3rd. The 7-alarm fire required over 120 firefighters and 15 fire engines from the Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) to respond. Firefighters monitored the fire overnight. A shelter for displaced residents was established at ?Iolani School.
An investigation by HFD was unable to conclusively identify the cause of the fire.
Aftermath
More than 200 of the 568 units were damaged. 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. In fact, after a 2013 fire, the Marco Polo building's association obtained an estimate of $8,000 per condo for installation of sprinklers. This would have cost $4.5 million for the entire complex, but the sprinkler system was never installed. More than 300 high-rises across Oahu are not required to have sprinklers. However, local and Hawai'i lawmakers were considering making sprinklers mandatory on these older complexes. Both Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell and Hawai'i state senator Glenn Wakai voiced support for sprinkler installation in older high-rises.
See also
- List of cities with the most high-rise buildings
- First Interstate Tower fire
Notes
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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