Fire destroys home occupied by squatters

Fire destroyed a home occupied by squatters in Hawaiian Beaches subdivision in Pahoa Friday afternoon.

According to a Hawaii Fire Department statement, 10 units, including three engines and a tanker, answered the 1:43 p.m. alarm with the first unit arriving on scene 12 minutes later.

Arriving firefighters found the single-story home on Kahakai Boulevard “fully involved, with flames and heavy smoke throughout,” the statement said.

A home to the mauka was threatened by flames and sustained some heat damage, but firefighters were able to confine the flames to the structure of origin.

The fire was reported under control at 2:45 p.m. and extinguished at 3:49 p.m.

No one was injured, according to the Fire Department, and the scene was turned over to police investigators and fire inspectors.