President Joe Biden compared a small kitchen fire at his home in Delaware 19 years ago to the devastation in Lahaina, Maui, telling victims he had a sense of what it was like to “lose a home.”
“I don’t want to compare difficulties, but we have a little sense, Jill and I, what it’s like to lose a home,” he said while at the Lahaina Civic Center.
“To make a long story short, I almost lost my wife, my ‘67 Corvette, and my cat. But all kidding aside, I watched the firefighters, the way they responded…And they ran into flames to save my wife and save my family. Not a joke,” he added.
An Associated Press article from August 2, 2004, on the fire called it “small” and “contained to the kitchen.” It was under control in 20 minutes, according to the fire company chief.
It said:
Lightning struck the home of Sen. Joseph Biden, starting a small fire that was contained to the kitchen.
No one was injured in Sunday’s fire, which started amid a storm that caused serious flooding in Pennsylvania and knocked out power to hundreds of Delaware homes and businesses.
…
Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the house, but were able to keep the flames from spreading beyond the kitchen, said Cranston Heights Fire Company Chief George Lamborn.
“Luckily, we got it pretty early,” he said. “The fire was under control in 20 minutes.”
There are 850 people still unaccounted for, Mayor Richard Bissen said in a Facebook post on Monday. So far, 115 have been confirmed dead, according to Maui County.
WATCH: K9 Units Assist in Search for Survivors in Lahaina Following Wildfires
Many of those dead are feared to be children, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green confirmed Sunday. “That is possible that there will be many children,” he said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
There is still 15 percent of Lahaina to be searched, which includes larger residential buildings where remains might be more difficult to recover, according to Green.
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