Honolulu firefighters dealt with an abandoned car dealership fire near the airport Wednesday.
“One of the reasons why it’s challenging for us is we don’t know how all of the configuration within the building has changed since it’s no longer occupied. Sometimes there’s false ceilings and false spaces and void spaces that inhibit us from getting to the scene of the fire,” Honolulu Capt. Malcolm Medrano said.
Workers in the area said they first started smelling something burning before hearing multiple sirens. They walked outside to find heavy smoke coming out of the building, KHON reported.
“Any roof operation, especially on a defensive strategy, is dangerous for our personnel. They were asked to not only get out of the interior space of the fire, but also to get off of the roof.”
He added that former Kia staff showed up to provide a floorplan of the structure.
The investigation is continuing.
