The Honolulu Fire Department failed to conduct scheduled safety inspections at a high-rise building where a 25th-floor apartment was gutted Tuesday.

Fire inspectors missed the 1999, 2003 and 2005 inspections at Kapiolani Manor, and said yesterday there may be other buildings they've missed.

"We didn't believe we had any gaps in the fire inspection system," said Honolulu Fire Chief Kenneth G. Silva. "Now that we know there is a gap, we are identifying high-risk buildings and we're going to verify their inspection records."

While inspections would not have prevented the fire at Kapiolani Manor — which was caused by unattended candles in the apartment — the missed safety checks are a concern, fire officials said.

There may be as many as five other high-rise buildings where inspections were missed, fire officials said yesterday. That's less than 1 percent of the roughly 800 high-rise residential buildings in the city that are subject to fire inspections.

Honolulu police are investigating Tuesday's fire to determine if there was any criminal negligence on the part of two men who left candles burning in the living room of their apartment.

A 96-year-old woman was sent to the hospital in critical condition and a 78-year-old woman was in serious condition after the fire. Both suffered smoke inhalation. Three others also were overcome by smoke but were not hospitalized.

"Because of the seriousness of the injuries and the fact that people's lives were in jeopardy, we're going to be looking into the circumstances of the Makaloa Street fire," said Honolulu police Capt. Frank Fujii. "What we need to take a good look at is if there was any criminal negligence."

INSPECTIONS REQUIRED

State law requires the fire department to inspect the common areas such as hallways, fire escapes and parking garages of high-rise condominiums once every two years. Kapiolani Manor, at 1655 Makaloa St., was last inspected Aug. 6, 2001.

Prior to that, the building, which is directly across the street from the Pawa'a fire station, was inspected in 1997.

"It's just one of those we apparently missed. Had there been an inspection two weeks ago, it wouldn't have changed the outcome here," said Battalion Chief Lloyd D. Rogers. "Everything in this building — the alarm system, the fire hoses, the fire escapes — operated the way it was supposed to."

Kapiolani Manor is made up of 414 one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments with 500 square feet of living area and 55 square feet of lanai. There have been at least four fires that gutted apartments in the building since 1978, according to the fire department.

The most recent fire on record in the building occurred on Feb. 7, 1990, when a young boy playing with a lighter ignited a wicker basket, causing $70,000 in damage to apartment 1303.

No one was injured in that fire.

PROBLEMS ADDRESSED

During the building's last inspection, officials recommended that building managers cut back brush that had blocked access for firefighters, test the building's fire alarm system and test the water pressure in the building's emergency water pipes. All three areas were addressed, according to inspection records.

Fire officials say a records management system could have played a role in the missed inspections at Kapiolani Manor. Prior to 2000, the fire department only kept paper fire inspection records.

At that time, the department began the first of two attempts to purchase and use a digital records management system to keep better track of all files and began the process of inputting all the files manually onto the database.

But the database feature that kept track of fire inspection records failed twice in the last seven years, officials said. And many of the paper reports have been misplaced as the department moved files from its former headquarters near Honolulu Airport to a new building on South Street.

The department is currently inputting inspection records into a new database system developed by an employee.

THOUSANDS TO INSPECT

Despite the problems, the inspections should have been conducted. "I don't want to make the excuse that it was a database issue," Silva said.

The department's Fire Prevention Bureau employs 15 fire inspectors responsible for inspecting high-rise buildings, businesses and schools. In all, the department is responsible for inspecting between 10,000 and 30,000 structures every two years, including the Honolulu International Airport and all O'ahu prisons.

The department is not required to inspect private dwellings.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.