HAWAII COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT
HAMAKUA PATROL DISTRICT
OFFICER WENDALL CARTER
PHONE: 775-7533
OCTOBER 12, 1999
G-08412
MEDIA RELEASE
A fire accidentally started by a gas torch destroyed a wooden shed, a pickup truck and other items Tuesday (October 12, 1999) in the Hamakua District.
Responding to a 12:25 p.m. call, Police and Fire Department personnel determined that the fire, which occurred about five miles mauka on the Mauna Kea Ranch Road, was started when flames from the torch lit diesel fuel on the walls of the shed.
Besides the shed, a 1993 Ford flatbed pickup truck with a boom and miscellaneous tools, a new diesel engine, a water tank and a water pump were destroyed.
Total damages were estimated at $117,500.
There were no reported injuries in the fire. An investigation of the fire has been closed because it was determined that there no foul play involved.
# # #