Fires at three Hawaii hotels investigated as arson, authorities say
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Authorities in Hawaii are investigating fires that were intentionally set at three high-rise resort hotels near Waikiki Beach over the past four days, officials said Wednesday.
No one was injured in the fires, but two of the hotels were partially evacuated. Firefighters have referred the case to the police for investigation. Police have declined to comment and have not released any information about possible suspects, methods or a motive. Honolulu police did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.
Honolulu Fire Department Captain Scot Seguirant told reporters that all three fires started at night in a hallway on a floor with guest rooms.
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The first fire caused $4,000 in damage Sunday at the Alohilani Resort Waikiki Beach and was reportedly extinguished quickly.
The interior of the Alohilani Resort is shown in Honolulu on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. Hawaii authorities are investigating three fires that were intentionally set in three different high-rise resort hotels near Waikiki Beach over the past few days.
(AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
Marc and Mariam Walkowski of Grand Rapids, Mich., who were staying at the nearby Courtyard by Marriott, told The Associated Press that “It appeared that they evacuated nearly everybody” from the resort.
People were taking photos and video and were calm, Marc Walkowski said.
"There's a lot of hotels in this area so I'm not concerned that ours would be a target, but you never know," he said. "We weren't aware that it was arson, we assumed it was an accident."
The exterior of the Alohilani Resort is shown in Honolulu on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019.
(AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
The second fire was reported near a storage room on the 14th floor of the 25-story Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger in Honolulu on Monday and caused $1.8 million in damage.
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The fire forced an evacuation of the building, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported. Fire officials told the paper that a fire alarm and sprinkler system were activated, which alerted occupants and kept the fire from spreading.
The third fire broke out Tuesday on the 28th floor of the 38-story Hilton Hawaiian Grand Waikikian and hotel security extinguished the flames with a fire extinguisher. Police said the fire caused $10,000 in damage.
The Grand Waikikian at Hilton Hawaiian Village, one of three hotels officials said was intentionally set on fire, is shown in Honolulu on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019.
(AP Photo/Caleb Jones)
The fire activated a fire alarm system and hotel security evacuated occupants on that floor, according to the Star-Advertiser.
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Matt Kim of San Francisco, who is visiting the islands with his family, said he saw the road to the Grand Waikikian was closed Tuesday but had no idea there had been a case of arson.
"That's pretty scary, especially security-wise," said Kim, who is staying at the sprawling Hilton complex in Waikiki. He added he would like to see more foot patrols around the area but doesn't plan to change hotels unless officials recommend he do so.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Click for more from the Star-Advertiser.
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