KAPALUA, Maui — A 43-year-old Texas woman apparently suffered a fatal heart attack yesterday while swimming at Honolua Bay, police said.

Elizabeth Danheim of Houston began struggling in the water about 10:35 a.m. and was helped on to a rocky outcropping, according to police. The woman was experiencing difficulty breathing and lost consciousness. Paramedics and Maui Fire Department personnel were unable to revive her and she died at the scene, police said.

CALIFORNIA WOMAN FALLS FROM BALCONY

LAHAINA, Maui — A 52-year-old California woman fell to her death Thursday from a 10th-floor balcony at the Westin Ka'anapali Resort.

Police said the body of Laurie J. Brunner-Chapple, of Sunnyvale, Calif., was discovered near the hotel pool about 4:16 p.m.

The woman suffered massive head trauma, and police said foul play is not suspected, although an investigation is continuing to determine whether the fall was accidental.

HEALD FIRE TIES UP KAPI'OLANI TRAFFIC

A small fire at Heald College on Kapi'olani Boulevard yesterday afternoon caused a major traffic headache as west-bound lanes of the thoroughfare were closed for more than two hours.

The fire at 1500 Kapi'olani Blvd. was reported at 4:46 p.m. and arriving companies discovered a fire on the fifth-floor roof of the building, said fire department spokesman Capt. Robert Main. Smoke from the fire was drawn into the building's air-handling unit and filled the building, Main said.

About 100 people were evacuated from the building and there were no reports of injuries. The fire was extinguished at 5:06 p.m. and the cause was under investigation, Main said.

Damage was estimated at $50,000 to the building and its contents. Main said most of the damage was caused when a firefighting standpipe that had rusted through ruptured, spilling water on the fourth floor.

He said the building's manager hired a contractor to mop up the water.

The two-alarm fire forced police to close the west-bound lanes of Kapi'olani Boulevard at the peak of rush-hour traffic. The lanes were closed for about two hours.

MEN BURNED AFTER TRUCK CATCHES FIRE

Two men were burned, one seriously, when the pickup truck they were in caught fire on Kalaniana'ole Highway in the Hawai'i Loa Ridge area.

Their Toyota pickup was traveling west at 1:18 p.m. when it caught fire near Pu'uikena Drive, fire Capt. Terry Seelig said.

One of the men suffered serious burns to his back and was taken to a hospital. The other man had minor burns to an ear.

Fire companies from the Wailupe fire station responded to the alarm.

DRIVER INJURED AFTER CAR HITS POLE

A woman who appeared to be in her 80s was seriously injured yesterday morning when the Toyota station wagon she was driving hit a utility pole and flipped near the intersection of Makanani and Skyline drives in 'Alewa Heights.

A crew from Hawaiian Electric Co. was sent to the area following the 9:40 a.m. crash to repair the damaged pole.

The incident did not result in a power outage in the area, HECO spokesman Darren Pai said.

HIKER RESCUED NEAR KAUA'I FALLS

HA'ENA, Kaua'i — A 42-year-old woman visiting from Staffordshire, England, was rescued by Kaua'i firefighters Thursday afternoon after she was injured while hiking to Hanakapi'ai Falls.

She was taken to Wilcox Hospital, where she was treated and released.

A park ranger from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources contacted police dispatch about 4:30 p.m., saying the woman needed help getting out of the valley.

The county helicopter, Air-1, found the woman a short distance from Hanakapi'ai Falls, and its three-person rescue team picked up the woman.

KILAUEA POINT SEEKS VOLUNTEERS

Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is seeking new volunteers for 2009 at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service-managed refuge.

Volunteer opportunities include interpreting the natural history of Kaua'i's seabirds, native coastal plants and marine mammals; sharing the rich cultural history of Kilauea Point and the historic Kilauea Lighthouse; and restoring native plant communities.

For information about volunteer training, contact Shayna Carney at shayna_carney@fws.gov or 808-635-0925.