Everyone is safe following a fire at a student rented house on Laie Point. A private residence housing female students, called the Quiet House, caught fire on Saturday, Jan. 26, in the early afternoon. The left side of the house was destroyed in the blaze, with damage to the right side still being evaluated.
Female student residents were displaced from the fire, with only a handful of spots available on campus. If you have any openings or know of any potential spots, contact Janey Grover (BYU–Hawaii Housing): janey.grover@byuh.edu or BYU–Hawaii housing (808) 675-3534 [Monday through Friday, 8-to-5 p.m.].
Rilee Villanueva, a junior from Washington State studying biology, said she had been in a different part of the house when her friends alerted her to the danger.
“I was in the shower when the smoke came into the bathroom through the window,” said Villanueva. “I immediately shut the window and then the window went dark from the smoke. That’s when my two roommates were knocking on the door to tell me to get out.”
At least eight firetrucks and a water truck lined the road leading up to the Point as smoke billowed into the sky. Neighbors were bringing water bottles to the residents and firefighters as students and neighbors were gathered in groups across the street from the house.
In the rush to get out of the house, most of the girls didn’t have shoes. Friends showed up with jackets for girls who didn’t have time to grab one on the way out.
Neighbors said their main concern was the girls were okay and had a place to go. Several neighbors gave their phone numbers to girls in the house, offering them places to stay if they needed.
Emma Swan, a sophomore from Canada majoring in exercise science, said she and some friends were inside the house working on a puzzle when they started to smell something burning. “We started looking for something hot that might have been left on. My friend walked out onto the patio and looked over the wall and saw the house on fire. There was billowing black smoke. Everyone started yelling to get out of the house.”
One man was receiving oxygen by the house after neighbors said he ran inside to make sure everyone was okay.
Emily Barr, a sophomore from Minnesota studying biology education, said she was one of the student residents of the Quiet House. Barr said, “It started about an hour ago. Someone had a few guy friends over, and they were rapping on the doors getting us all out. Everyone’s fine, but there was one girl who was coughing.”
Barr described the fire as having begun in a unit occupied by a family, none of whom were current students of BYU-Hawaii.
According to Barr, who had come down to the Laie Shopping Center to purchase clothing and other items since she was displaced, there were around eight fire engines on the point. As she was saying this, a fire engine’s siren was blaring on the road behind her as the truck traveled up to the Point. A temporary redirection of traffic was also going on in the background as police kept the road open for engines and other emergency vehicles to access.
While holding a bag of new clothes from Jean’s Warehouse, Barr said, “We don’t know [if our stuff survived]. We probably won’t be able to get back into our house tonight, so that’s why I’m here shopping.
“I just bought an outfit for today and tomorrow. I am on the other side of the house so hopefully, my stuff made it.”
Morgan Ricks, another resident of the Quiet House, said all she knew was one minute she was in the house, and then everyone was yelling to get out of the house.
Kalie Seraydarian, a freshman from New Jersey studying psychology said she was at Hukilau Beach with another student when they saw the black smoke billowing from the house. During those first tense moments, she said a friend who lived in the house sent a message to her and others in a group chat saying, ‘Our house is on fire.’
From what she witnessed of the fire while at Hukilau Beach, Seraydarian said, “We took a picture of it and you could see how the wind was blowing. If a flame had blown over [to another house], it totally would have caught on.”
Joshua Hansen, a sophomore from Utah studying computer science, said, “Right when we noticed it [from Hukilau Beach], we saw flames billowing from it. But it didn’t look like the flames were large enough to actually jump from house to house yet.”
He continued, “I could also see what looked like water coming out so the firemen had already been there for 10-to-20 minutes. I think they did a good job containing it.”
Villanueva said the firefighters escorted the girls in small groups into the burned house to retrieve their items. She was among the group taken to the top left unit and were advised to be extremely careful.
On what she saw while walking back through the house, Villanueva said, “Our window was smashed in our room. I was able to get my things, but it all smelled like toxic smoke.”
When asked about what’s been happening since the fire, Villanueva said she and others were in the process of trying to wash out the smoke smell from their clothing. “I’m hoping the smell comes out.”
According to Villanueva, there were temporary arrangements at Hale 2, but there hadn’t been enough for all the girls who were displaced.
BYU-Hawaii officials sent out a statement after the fire on its Facebook page, saying, “BYU–Hawaii has been notified of a fire at a privately-owned residence on Laie Point, which is rented by BYUH students. At this time, BYU–Hawaii has not received any reports of injuries. ...”
Laura Tevaga, director of Communications, wrote in an email, “We really don’t have a lot of information at this point. However, anything related to the fire (cause, when students might be able to move back in, etc.) would have to come directly from the Honolulu Fire Department. It wouldn’t be our place to speculate on any of that.
“As far as students displaced by the fire, the university will temporarily provide food and shelter for students from the Quiet House. We are working in conjunction with their local bishop to make sure everyone is taken care of.”
Later on Saturday evening, Bishop Titus Napoleon, of the YSA 16th Ward posted, a message on Facebook relaying how 30 sisters in his ward were displaced by the fire. Taking the opportunity to thank the community for their “outpouring of support,” Napoleon also expressed his gratitude to the Lord for His protection over the girls.
According to Napoleon, the ward Relief Society President Emily Peterson, has been keeping tabs on the sisters and is collecting donations. Napoleon said, “The community has been great in taking care of these girls.”
Peterson also expressed her gratitude at the almost immediate outpouring of support, saying, “The community is amazing. They donated so much and all the girls are so grateful. Toiletries, clothes, food, and gift cards were donated.”
Napoleon said Monday while he appreciates the donations, he is no longer able to accept money donations as the Church is helping the girls with welfare funds of fast offerings.
Sam Merrill, a senior from Alaska studying biology, recalled how he and others with him were filming a promotional Seasiders video for the Media Production Center at the meditation garden near Temple Beach when they spotted the smoke from the fire.
“We looked up and there was a little bit of white smoke coming up,” said Merrill. “Within two minutes, it had turned to dark black and had gotten bigger. That’s when we realized it wasn’t a little fire. It was a house fire.”
Merrill said they called 911 right away when they were told help was already coming. “Fifteen minutes later, a cop car came down from the north and he blocked off the intersection. It was burning for a good 30-to-40 minutes, but 25 minutes in while we were still filming, a fire truck came screaming down from the north.”
He said he and a few others with him went up to the Point to check on the situation when they witnessed a water truck come up the narrow road with its sirens blaring. “The firemen were there until about 10 o’clock. They allowed the girls to go in for about five minutes to grab some things.”
Going back to the time of the blaze, Merrill explained how the high winds that afternoon came through the back windows and doors and fueled the flames. When asked if he could recall the point at which he noticed the fire, Merrill said, “We called 911 around 2:40 p.m. so the fire probably started around 2:30 p.m.”
Writer: By Shannon Crowley and Haeley van der Werf