Honolulu Building Fire Site Open for Inspection by Potential Litigants

The Marco Polo condominium building in which a July fire killed four has been opened to numerous people who might file lawsuits, potential defendants such as product manufacturers and their insurers, and fire experts from across the nation.

As of Monday, people have access to the building to begin looking at the evidence left behind by the largest building fire in Honolulu’s history, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported.

Marco Polo attorney David Louie said that in order to preserve the evidence, the 26th and 27th floors have been locked down since the Honolulu Fire Department released the fire scene to the condominium owners association.

The association is under court order to allow the examination of the building.

One unit owner, unrelated to a fire victim, filed a lawsuit. Stemming from that, the association agreed to a preliminary injunction regarding the examination.

“It’s in the one lawsuit, but it has wider implications for other claims that might arise,” said Louie, who anticipates the examination will be completed within about two weeks.

Once the examination is completed, repairs will start to be done, Louie said.

The Honolulu Fire Department finished its investigation at the fire scene about two weeks after the fire. It released its findings Oct. 16.

Fire officials could not determine the cause of the fire, which caused more than $100 million in damage.

The investigation could open again if new information is found, Honolulu fire spokesman Capt. David Jenkins said.