Hawaii police took a 60-year-old man into custody Friday night outside a blazing Ocean View home.
A resident of the home, Martin Mario Molina was arrested on suspicion of first degree arson. Molina admitted at the scene to starting the blaze, according to the Hawaii County Fire Department. No one was injured.
Firefighters responding to the 6:07 p.m. alarm found both floors of the 30-foot by 60-foot home burning. The house had four occupants, and three were away at the time of the fire.
Evan Prestriedge is one of three family members who told West Hawaii Today that they had left the house following an argument with Molina. They had turned over two guns that had been in the house to police and were at a restaurant about a half hour away when officers called them to tell them about the fire.
“As we were driving back up, the house was completely engulfed in flames,” Prestriedge said. “Upstairs, flame was coming out of every single window. My grandmother’s dog and cat died.”
The family, which has lived in Ocean View for four years, had planned to put the home up for sale and move to Washington. Molina was supposed to go with them, said the man’s wife, Shelley Molina.
The family was in Kailua-Kona on Saturday to buy cords to charge their cell phones and figure out a path forward.
“Right now, we’re at a friend’s house,” Shelley Molina said. “We’re trying to pick up the pieces.”
An RV estimated at $40,000 and an extensive jewelry collection owned by Arlene Anzelde, 78, the homeowner, were destroyed in the blaze, Anzelde said.
“For now, we are homeless. Everything is gone,” Prestriedge said.
A total of eight emergency units responded, and the loss was estimated at $270,000. The fire was under control at 8 p.m. and declared out at 10:30 p.m.
The American Red Cross was helping the family on Saturday with shelter, clothing, food and other necessities, said Barney Sheffield, the Big Island’s disaster coordinator for the agency. The Red Cross responded the evening of the fire, but the family already had an offer of shelter for that night.
“We’re making sure they have a place to stay and lining them out with other agencies if necessary,” Sheffield said.
A gofundme site has been created to help the family. It can be found at: http://www.gofundme.com/phl2is