Jan 07, 2025
HONOLULU (KHON2) -- The Honolulu Fire Department is asking for your continued compassion and aloha as they grieve the loss of one of their own. Jeff Fiala was killed while fighting the house fire on Young Street Monday night. Get Hawaii's latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Fiala was stationed in Kakaako. It's HFD's first death in the line of duty since 2016. A small memorial grows for has since grown in remembrance of Fiala. HFD says part of the roof collapsed, killing the 25-year-old and injuring several others. ‘Mayday call’: Firefighter killed while combatting McCully apartment fire "This tragedy is truly heartbreaking for all of us," said Honolulu Fire Department Chief Sheldon Hao. "As firefighters we know the risk of our job but we continue to run towards danger knowing we helping people in need." HFD says it is providing grief counselors for those that need it. "We had a lot of companies there that were involved and we're really concerned about their mental health and well being at this point in time," said Bobby Lee, Hawaii Firefighter Association president. "That's the priority right now." Because this was a death in the line of duty, there will be a federal investigation into the issue. "We are very curious and we want to really know what happened so that we can continue to build more safeguards into this profession," Lee said. A day later, neighbors were shocked to see their homes stayed safe, with some homes being about 15 feet away from the initial blaze. "I saw some of the footage afterward of it and it's kind of surreal to me, for it to just escalate that much in a short period of time," said neighbor Denise Horita. Horita says she woke up extremely grateful and thankful for all first responders. She also wanted to offer her condolences to the firefighter who was killed, his family and the entire department. "This is what they do, I know," Horita said. "I don't think I could ever do it but I give them a lot of credit for it." HFD says the four other firefighters hurt in the fire are stable and will be released from the hospital. Find more Hawaii, Oahu, Maui and Kauai news here The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Hao did not want to get into details immediately, wanting to focus more on the health and well-being of the firefighters and department.
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