Maui firefighters tackle 2 fires, swimmer in distress
Maui firefighters were kept busy Sunday extinguishing separate house and brush fires and rescuing a 60-year-old Oregon woman who got in trouble swimming in Kapalua Bay.
Firefighters, responding to a 5:46 p.m. alarm, found the 60-year-old Portland visitor waving their arms in distress, roughly 300 yards offshore at Kapalua Bay.
A firefighter swam out and assisted the woman safely to shore. She did not require any medical attention.
Responding to an alarm several hours later, firefighters in Kula found smoke coming from the first floor of a two-story residential duplex unit on Kulalani Drive at 8:11 p.m.
Firefighters extinguished a fire in the kitchen area. The fire was brought under control within five minutes and extinguished at 8:41 p.m.
The occupants of the unit were not at home when the fire broke out and no one was injured. However, a family dog on the second floor died.
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The cause of the fire was determined to be cooking materials left unattended on the stove. The fire was classified as accidental. Damages were estimated at $50,000 to the structure and $20,000 to its contents.
Firefighters in Wailea took less than 30 minutes to extinguish a brush fire in a vacant lot reported near the Kihei Regency Apartments at 2441 South Kihei Road. The fire was reported at 9:26 p.m.
The cause of the brush fire, which burned an area 10 feet by 20 feet, was undetermined. No structures were damaged and no injuries reported.