Question: Whatever happened to retired fire Capt. Richard Soo and his family after their home in Papakolea burned last year?
Answer: Richard Soo went out to countless house fires in his 28 years with the Honolulu Fire Department, the last four serving as HFD spokesman.
But on Aug. 2, Soo, who was out at a meeting, got a call from his son that their home was on fire.
Fire gutted the second and third floors of Soo’s 10-year-old duplex in the Kalawahine subdivision, and the first floor sustained water damage, for a loss of nearly $300,000 to the structure and the family’s belongings.
Now, Soo’s not taking any chances.
He is installing a sprinkler system in the rebuilt home, not just to protect the structure but, more importantly, to protect his family.
His two sons, Davit, then 22, and Blaise, then 16, and hanai son Pono Young, then 20, were home at the time of the fire, caused by a pot of mashed potatoes left warming on the stove.
At the time of the fire, Soo’s sons were on the bottom floor. Although the fire did not reach that floor, his sons had to exit through the main floor (second floor at street level), where the kitchen is located and the fire originated. "The (interior of the) house was reduced to studs," he said.
Although the exterior was salvageable, except for the roof and exterior lanai, the main floor was severely burned. "The fire migrated into the master bedroom and gutted it," Soo said.
Had a sprinkler system been installed, damage to the home and its contents would have been greatly reduced, and his family would likely not have faced the potential threat of the fire.
Soo and his family stayed in a hotel for two weeks, and have been living in a rented house for nearly nine months while the house is under reconstruction, courtesy of his insurance company.
"For me, it was a revelation of what material things you have and what you really cherish, as opposed to what you thought you needed," Soo said.
They hope to move into their rebuilt home in June.
Soo is grateful to so many for the outpouring of generosity.
His Kalawahine neighbors were first to share clothes with them.
The Fire Department took up a collection; people in Kalawahine and two other homesteads — Papakolea and Kewalo — made donations, and Soo’s 1969 Kamehameha Schools classmates sent checks. About 200 people attended a spaghetti dinner fundraiser organized by Jessica Rich of the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii.
Various companies donated design, labor and materials for the sprinkler system, and Soo is paying for a water meter ($2,500).
"The lessons I learned is to be grateful to your friends and family," he said.
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This update was written by Leila Fujimori. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813; call
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