A fire tore through a home on Alewa Drive in Alewa Heights on Monday night, August 17, destroying nearly everything Zach and Dennisa Bumgardner and their family owned after 11 years in the house. The couple, who co-founded Elevate Church in their living room before it grew into a full congregation, were not home when the blaze broke out, and their family cat and dog both made it out alive.
According to KHON2, the Bumgardner family got word that their unit was on fire and rushed back to find flames pouring from the kitchen along the ceiling, a scene Zach Bumgardner described to the station. He said he was grateful the family had not been home when the fire started. The Honolulu Fire Department received the 911 call at 9:33 p.m. and dispatched 11 units and roughly 40 firefighters, who brought the blaze under control by 9:55 p.m. and fully extinguished it by 10:11 p.m., according to the Daily Dispatch. No firefighters were injured during the roughly 38-minute containment effort.
Pets Survive, But Home Is Left Charred
The family's cat, Arigato, escaped during the commotion and exited the fire unharmed, KHON2 reports. The family dog also survived, though with injuries, and is reportedly improving after follow-up visits to the doctor. Inside, the damage was total — every room in the house was charred, and the family's belongings were destroyed within about 45 minutes.
Among the losses were sentimental items that can't be replaced, including Zach Bumgardner's antique 12-string guitar, a gift from his father, which the station notes was completely charred in the fire. Students who once gathered at the Bumgardner home for Thanksgiving meals or lessons now find the house virtually impossible to live in, per the same account.
Fire Followed Days Without Power After Hurricane Lala
The blaze came just days after Hurricane Lala battered Hawaii in mid-August, triggering island-wide power outages that left more than 130,000 Oahu customers without electricity before Hawaiian Electric restored service around August 20, according to Civil Beat. The Bumgardner family stayed with a friend during a three-day outage tied to the storm, KHON2 reports, before the fire broke out shortly after power was restored to their area.
On August 20, the Honolulu Fire Department's fire investigator officially classified the cause of the fire as accidental electrical, according to the Honolulu Fire Department. HFD also estimated total damages, including property damage and destroyed contents, at $475,000. It remains an open question whether the post-hurricane power restoration played any role in the electrical malfunction, though investigators have not attributed the cause to the storm.
A Neighborhood Already on Edge
The Alewa Drive fire also followed a separate incident just weeks earlier on the same block. Less than three weeks before the Bumgardner fire, Honolulu firefighters responded on July 29 to a basement fire next door at 1330 Alewa Drive, which HFD investigators later determined had been intentionally set, according to Hawaii News Now. Investigators have not linked the two fires, and the Bumgardner blaze was officially classified as accidental, distinct from the arson case next door.
The scale of the response reflects the size of the department covering the area. The Honolulu Fire Department protects 597 square miles across Oahu with 1,120 uniformed career personnel spread across 43 stations, maintaining a daily staffing level of 333 firefighters, according to the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
Electrical Fires Remain a Leading Cause of Home Loss
Residential electrical malfunctions are a persistent driver of home damage nationwide. The U.S. Fire Administration estimates that electrical failures cause roughly 24,200 structure fires, 295 civilian deaths, and $1.2 billion in direct property loss across the country each year. The National Fire Protection Association advises homeowners to plug major heat-producing appliances directly into wall outlets rather than extension cords or surge protectors to prevent thermal overload. Older homes built before modern code updates, meanwhile, often lack the Arc-Fault Circuit Interrupter protection now required in living spaces under the National Electrical Code, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International, unless they have been retrofitted.
Family Leans on Faith and Community Amid Loss
Despite losing their home of 11 years and nearly everything inside it, the Bumgardner family says they feel gratitude in the aftermath. The family has started a GoFundMe to help them get back on their feet as they navigate what comes next. Complicating the timing, Dennisa Bumgardner had planned to fly to Phoenix, Arizona in just two days to take her son to college there, a trip the family is now managing in the shadow of the fire.
Zach and Dennisa Bumgardner founded Elevate Church HI in their living room in November 2015 before the congregation eventually grew enough to move into a permanent facility at 1347 Kapiolani Boulevard in Honolulu. Zach Bumgardner grew up on Oahu during elementary school and later served as worship pastor at Mosaic Church and connections pastor at Metro Christian Church in Honolulu before co-founding Elevate.
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