MEDIA RELEASE

A Kaʻū man died New Year’s Eve (December 31) in a structure fire in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates subdivision.

Responding to a 9 p.m. call, officers arrived at a home on the 92-9100 block of Lehua Lane to find firefighters at the scene. The flames had been extinguished but the house was still smoldering.

The body of a 67-year-old Ocean View man was found in a bedroom. His name is being withheld pending notification of his family. He was officially pronounced dead at Kona Community Hospital at 1:50 a.m. Thursday (January 1).

The victim’s roommate reported that he had arrived home to find the house on fire and had been unsuccessful in his attempts to move the victim out of the house.

The case has been classified as a coroner’s inquest. An autopsy was conducted Friday morning (January 2) but results are undetermined pending toxicology results. Police do not suspect foul play.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.