Friday’s fire at the hawaii public television building in Manoa definitely did some damage. Soundproofing material in the studio now charred, pieces haphazardly piled in clumps on the floor.
"Its a little sad, obviously, but in hindsight it could have been worse," said Paul Hayashida, PBS Hawaii Production Manager.
The blaze knocked the station off the air, but cameras, video monitors and wireless equipment were all saved.
"You can see we haven’t even mopped the floors yet, we’re in a very early stage but things can happen quickly now that we have power," said Leslie Wilcox, President and CEO of PBS Hawaii.
Electricians came to the rescue restoring power to the building and some hope that the station would be back in business soon.
"An electrician came in hit our mains and we’re going around the building now making sure everything is working OK," said Hayashida.
Power for a TV station is everything and getting lights back up helped in a huge way. PBS Hawaii says its thankful it was able to return to all its regular programming by this afternoon. But, the station has even more to be grateful for, loyal viewers.
"More so people have called and said I’ve got boots, I’ve got gloves, when should I show up? I know you have some shoveling to do and some mopping, I’ve got pretty strong arms," said Wilcox.
They may need it – parts of the studio set will have to be replaced or re-built. In the meantime tapings of Long Story Short with Leslie Wilcox, Leahey and Leahey, and various other local programs are on hold.
"We’re figuring out ways we can continue to do our weekly local shows without missing a beat and that’s the plan," said Wilcox. "We’ll be doing everything we can to bring it back to full glory.">
The station only lost one significant satellite feed due to the fire, the PBS Arts Fall Festival featuring women who rock. That program will be re-scheduled to air at a later date.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
