It was a little bit after 9 am, on the morning of July 23rd, 20 years ago today, and the fire department in Hilo received 17 calls in succession, one almost on top of the other, from some of our friends and neighbors... a small fire caused by an electrical outlet in an upstairs bedroom of the Akita Building in Honomu, all of a sudden went out of control.
The building was built in 1923. The walls were single wall construction and the ceilings were over 10 feet high.... Before we knew it, the whole upstairs was engulfed.
It was a nice, breezy Sunday morning...sheer curtains were dancing with the breeze when the spark caught one side of a curtain... My son smelled fire, went in to check and the curtain was already on fire all the way up to the top... He ran downstairs to grab the fire extinguisher (in the hallway at the base of the stairs), but by the time he got back up there, the smoke was too thick and flames had caught the wall all around the window...I had followed him up there and grabbed him by the waist of his shorts to pull him out.
Our friend Cathy was already working at the front making sandwiches for one of the 'People to People' summer tours hosted by the University of Hawaii in Hilo... and the bus had just passed on the way up to the Akaka Falls State Park...she knew they would be back to pick up lunch in about an hour or so...
I ran to the office and grabbed my car keys and threw them to Cathy, so she could move it from the driveway besides the building, so the fire trucks would have better access...then I ran back in the office to grab the bank deposit bag...and forgot all about the money in the cash register... By this time flames were coming down the stairwell.
It was all over before my mind could grasp what was happening. All I could do was stand there, across the street and watch our whole world (our home, our business) go up in flames... The sound of the fire, the sound of window glass popping and the sound of crashes as things fell and broke, were terrifying and some I cannot forget.
I had not realized it, but Anthony had gone to the back of the Inn to turn the propane off and some falling debris had burned his back... I first learned of it when I was told by a neighbor the EMT had carried him to an ambulance. Later we learned he had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd degree burns on his back.
Neighbor Terri went with me down the street to check on Anthony...
Neighbors helping clear the debris from the front the day after the fire.
A few days after the fire, many people...some we knew, some complete strangers,,, came to help clear things...some braved it inside the building to see if they could salvage anything for us... A few things were saved...mainly things in the back kitchen, which fared better than the rest of the building.
(All but the last two photos were taken by a neighbor shop keeper. The minute she heard another neighbor yell 'Fire!' she grabbed her camera and ran outside. I'm not sure who took the last two)
Many memories were gathered in that building... many a game of Scrabble was played with neighbors while sitting in front...The Christmas Day Open House... the Sunday Brunches... The many guests of the Inn who became life-long friends...
We will never forget the generosity of friends, neighbors, and complete strangers in the aftermath of the fire... If I did not know it before, I realized then what it was to be a part of the community... and to accept their generosity with humility and grace.
The Akaka Falls Inn was an integral part of the community and one we miss to this day.
