One person dies in early morning house fire in Hilo

At 3:11 a.m. on Sunday, four fire companies were dispatched to a house fire at 368 West Kawailani St. in Hilo that claimed the life of one person, who has not been identified.

Hawaiʻi Island firefighters arrived to find flames venting from the front of the approximately 40ʻ by 30ʻ building. Soon after a partial collapse of the building occurred to the front of structure.

Units got the fire under control. After the collapsed area was partially cleared during suppression efforts, fire personnel discovered the victim in a front bedroom. A report to firefighters said there was only one occupant of the house.

According to Redfin, it was a 1,232 square foot house with four bedrooms and two baths that last sold in 2006.

The fire caused a road closure in the area for about three hours.

The cause of the fire and death is under investigation.