Family of Marco Polo fire victims launching pet safety project

The Community Kokua Foundation for Fire Safety and Recovery is kicking off the Eddy Project, a pet fire safety initiative named for a Maltese that perished in the Marco Polo high-rise fire, which killed four people and caused more than $100 million in damage.

The Eddy Project is the first initiative for the foundation, a fire safety nonprofit established by family members of those who died in the Marco Polo fire, which occurred four years ago today at 2333 Kapiolani Blvd. next to Ala Wai Community Park.

The July 14, 2017, fire also killed airline executive Britt Reller, 54; his mother, Jean Dilley, 87; and Joann M. Kuwata, 71. Marilyn Van Gieson, 81, died 20 days later at Straub Medical Center.

The worst Honolulu high-rise fire in modern times also took the life of Britt Reller’s 14-year-old Maltese, Eddy. The Reller family said the dog, who was named for the comedic character Dame Edna, was a quirky and beloved family member who was with her owner to the end.

“We want to see something good to come out of this tragedy, literally something being built out of the ashes of the tragedy that occurred,” said foundation President Phil Reller, who lost his brother, Britt, and mother, Jean, in the Marco Polo fire.

Through the Eddy Project the foundation will encourage pet owners to include pets in their fire evacuation plans.

The project will provide free pet fire safety information and free stickers that pet owners can place on their windows or doors to alert first responders that there are pets inside the home. Local PetSmart stores, the Waipahu-Waikele Pet Hospital and local pet care groups will distribute the materials. For more information, visit communitykokuafoundation.com.

The project’s next steps would connect fire disaster victims with resources to help them care for and shelter their pets.

Becky D. Gustafson, the foundation’s vice president, said she has seen animals displaced by fire in her work as a property manager, and plans to distribute the stickers when she checks in new tenants.

“The Fire Department is very compassionate about saving pets. If the stickers are there, they will look for them,” Gustafson said.

Honolulu Fire Department Capt. Chris Bartolome said in a statement, “The Honolulu Fire Department fully supports this initiative because our pets are members of the family. We urge everyone to learn how to safeguard your homes and especially the most vulnerable members of your families.”

The American Red Cross estimates that as many as 500,000 pets annually in the U.S. are affected by fires.

Maria Lutz, regional disaster officer for the American Red Cross, Pacific Islands Region, said in a statement, “The American Red Cross is happy to support the Eddy Project to promote pet welfare in fire emergencies and disasters. Having a plan and being prepared helps to ensure that our four-legged family members remain safe.”

Trina Zelle, Phil Reller’s wife, said Eddy, like her owner, left an indelible impression.

Zelle said the little dog spent time with her extended family, as Britt Reller traveled often due to his career, which included stints at Hawaiian Airlines, Northwest, Delta, US Airways and American.

Britt Reller was so popular that Hawaiian Airlines employees established a memorial garden for him at Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. Zelle said she also found a petition in his personal effects from Northwest employees to management “thanking them for hiring him because he was so wonderful to work with.”

Zelle said Britt Reller’s dog loved him, too.

“I think of a little rescue dog who had already been through enough before Britt adopted her. Then, her final moments were being burned in this horrible fire,” she said. “Britt was just crazy about her, and I know that he would have loved this work in her name.”

Phil Reller said the deaths of all the Marco Polo victims were preventable.

In the future, Reller said, the foundation plans to assist firefighters with post-traumatic stress. About 130 firefighters responded to the fire, which damaged more than 80 of the 568 Marco Polo units, including 30 that were destroyed, mostly on the 26th through the 28th floors.

The foundation also hopes to help people adapt to new fire safety rules that were reaffirmed in the city’s Bill 96, which was signed on Britt Reller’s birthday and became Ordinance 19-4. The law allows condo associations to forgo a third-party fire safety evaluation if fire sprinklers are installed and also provides credits for other fire safety improvements.

Another law, Ordinance 18-14, required any residential high-rise over 10 stories that didn’t have an exemption to undergo a fire safety assessment by a third party within three years and gave six years to pass the evaluation.

The bill was inspired by the deadly fire at the Marco Polo, which was built in 1971 before the city began requiring sprinkler systems.

Honolulu Fire Department spokeswoman Louise Kim McCoy said 377 existing residential high-rise buildings were identified as being without fire sprinklers at the time the bill was passed.

“Currently, there are 325 residential high-rise buildings on the list per Ordinance 19-4 (Bill 96),” McCoy said.

She said some 154 high-rise buildings have completed and submitted building fire safety evaluations, and 22 have reported completing evaluations with submittals pending.

An additional 149 buildings need to complete safety evaluations, opt to install automatic sprinklers throughout the building or provide documentation that they do not meet the definition of a high-rise building, McCoy said. The deadline to do so is May 3.

She said compliance has been affected by the pandemic, which was addressed by Ordinance 21-14, which extended certain deadlines by one year.

Gustafson said easy and inexpensive improvements, such as putting automatic closures on doors, already have been happening, and “everyone always says ‘because of the Marco Polo fire.’”

Some buildings that need to add fire sprinklers are coming through, but Gustafson said cost and aesthetics remain key challenges, along with permitting lags.

Phil Reller said the foundation is meeting with local and national professionals to learn about new fire safety technologies and programs, especially those that would bring down costs. Reller said special attention will be given to helping mitigate the expense of fire sprinklers for low-income individuals and seniors.

“The name of the foundation is the Community Kokua Foundation because no one entity can tackle fire safety and solve it. It takes everyone working together and sharing the responsibility to change things.”

The foundation will launch the Eddy Project with a news conference Thursday, which is National Pet Fire Safety Day. The event will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Diamond Head Bark Park, 4155 Diamond Head Road. It will be livestreamed at www.facebook.com/phil.reller.