Puna, Hawaiʻi – Hawaiʻi Fire Department (HFD) and Hawaiʻi Police Department (HPD) units responded to a garage fire at 16-2077 Treefern Drive in the Ainaloa subdivision early this morning, Monday, July 28, 2025. The fire, which was largely extinguished by HPD prior to HFD’s full arrival, is now under investigation for suspicious circumstances.
At approximately 4:51 a.m. today, fire crews from HFD’s Company 10 arrived to find a 25-foot by 50-foot single-story wooden-framed residential-type structure with some contents in the corner of its open carport involved in fire. Bystanders at the scene confirmed no one was inside the structure at the time.
HPD officers, who had arrived just before HFD, were able to extinguish the majority of the flames using a garden hose. HFD personnel then fully extinguished the remaining smoldering fire and overhauled the walls and ceiling of the garage to check for any hidden fire extension. Other HFD units that were initially dispatched were subsequently stood down.
The property owners arrived on scene and requested that an arson investigation be opened, citing suspicious circumstances they had noticed. They informed authorities that the house had just been remodeled and was vacant at the time of the fire.
The incident resulted in an estimated loss of $5,000, with an estimated $350,000 saved. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by fire inspectors. The scene has been left in the care of HPD, awaiting the arrival of fire inspectors.